Bring Her Home
by bakane
Summary: "But whenever everything seemed to be lost, hope always rescued them from the deepest depths of despair. And so, this time he would hope, for the both of them." - The white raven had salvaged the city from damnation, but at what price? The Titans embark on a new journey, to the place where it all began, in search of their lost friend who meant more to them than they ever realized.
1. Chapter 1 The End

**Author's Note:**

This is purely a fanfiction and some of the quotes are taken directly from the animated show (All credits given to the producers of the show Teen Titans)

* * *

He felt his body tense upon contact with the cold, hard ground. His hypersensitive ears were ringing painfully at the noise of explosions and his body was aching in pain. A loud roar echoed from above and there were shrill cries coming from a small girl in the distance.

"Beast Boy!" the girl cried and by the proximity of her voice, he knew she was right beside him. The green boy tried to respond but his mouth would not open. There was another explosion and a sickening crash. Beast Boy felt the vibrations on the ground and knew that the girl was shuddering. He heard her small footsteps moving away.

The boy gathered all his strength to open his eyes. He immediately located the girl, a few meters away from him. The child version of Raven was crying beside their leader's listless body.

"Get up!" she sobbed as she knelt down beside him, "Robin, please! Get up!"

There were thundering footsteps approaching. A large shadow was cast over their bodies.

"Farewell, dear daughter," the voice daunted. The four eyes of the towering demon, shone in bright red.

"No…" Beast Boy whispered as he tried to move his body forward. He only managed to lift his hand towards her direction, wishing to protect her but knowing he was only making a futile attempt. An infernal blast rained down in Raven's direction and then there was a deafening blow. Beast Boy's mouth ran dry. His hand fell back, limply, onto the ground. He stared in horror at the place where the girl had been. He was dreading what he would witness once the dust cloud cleared.

But to his astonishment, the smoke cleared to reveal a perfectly unharmed Raven. One of her hands was glowing in white energy.

"But…" Raven's eyes were wide open in shock, "How…?"

"You may have retained some trace of my power, but you are still no threat to me, _little girl_," the demon taunted, "I am your creator, your master. You exist only to serve me. You survive only because I allow it."

The girl hung her head, her violet hair covering the sides of her face.

'Don't listen to him,' Beast Boy urged her in his head. She had to stay alive. She had to keep fighting.

"What hope can a mere child have of defeating her all-powerful father?" the voice above them roared in triumph.

Raven's eyebrows contorted in anger. Then, finally, she opened her eyes and stared up bravely at the red demon. Beast Boy observed that she was no longer trembling, there was no fear left behind in her violet orbs, only determination.

"You may have created me…" she stated as she stood up. For a moment, Beast Boy was blinded by a pure burst of white, so bright that he had to close his eyes tightly to save them from blindness. His sensitive ears twitched as he heard a small explosion, and when the light finally dimmed, it revealed not a child, but a sixteen year old teenager with long sapphire blue hair and white robes. It was her. It was their Raven.

"…But you were_ never _my father," she finished, her voice now much stronger, firm, and mature.

She raised her hands, both shining in bright white light, and shot a broad beam directly towards Trigon's stomach. The monster roared and staggered back in pain.

There were groans as the others on the ground began to move. Cyborg and Starfire helped each other up and Robin stood up while massaging his head. Beast Boy held himself up, his knees shaking slightly, but he had gained the necessary strength to stand from Raven's return. They all stared silently at their friend, who was seething in anger whilst walking up confidently to her demonic father.

"Fathers are _kind_! Father's _protect_ you! Fathers _raise _you!" she finished each sentence by aiming a strong burst of white energy towards Trigon. He was emitting horrible cries of pain and agony. The white energy was now encircling around him. There was a loud crash as the demon was taken down onto its knees, holding its head in torment.

"I was protected by the monks of Azarath," Raven shouted, "I was raised by my friends!" The others marched forward and placed their hands on each other. Robin and Beast Boy placed their hands on each side of Raven's shoulder. They felt a strange surge come over their bodies as the power Raven gave them for protection moved back into its former owner.

"They are my family," a burst of energy encased them as Raven emphasized her words; "This is my home. And you are not welcome here!"

The others watched in amazement as their friend rose above, into the air, encased in pure white energy.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she exclaimed and a shape of a white raven cast over Trigon. His face froze in fear and then he made another painful howl. His body seemed to be vaporizing by the light and after another a second, the entire world seemed to be consumed by it.

Beast Boy's eyes were shut tightly but he tried to listen intently with his ears. There were sounds of loud flashes and wind blowing in the air. Then for a moment, all was silent. He kept his eyes closed until he heard a few murmurs from the distance. There were several footsteps and he unmistakably heard the sound of people laughing and shouting.

His eyes shot open quickly and he looked around in surprise. Jump City was in its proper, undamaged condition. There was no trace of Trigon. People were walking on the streets again, no longer petrified as stone statues. The sky was a shade of beautiful sky-blue instead of a crimson red, and was decorated with white fluffy clouds, not black ugly crows. Everything was back to normal.

"Raven, that was…!" Beast Boy shouted in complete awe, up into the air where Raven had been floating. He stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.

He looked around, feeling disoriented and thinking that his eyes were deceiving him. Beast Boy glanced at the others and they were all eyeing him with the same look of half-confusion and half-concern.

Robin was the first to speak, his voice solemn and serious as ever, "Where's Raven?"


	2. Chapter 2 The Search

**Author's Note:**

This is purely a fanfiction and some of the quotes are taken directly from the animated show (All credits given to the producers of the show Teen Titans)

*The conversations in italics are indications of flashbacks

* * *

The team decided to split up in search for their lost friend. Starfire would try to seek her out from the sky. Cyborg would check back at the tower. Robin and Beast Boy stated they would thoroughly search the city on ground. Robin would travel on his motorcycle. Beast Boy transformed into a green Bloodhound, in hopes of picking up her scent.

Starfire was worried sick for her friend Raven. She was the first one out of the group whom Raven had 'bonded' with. During the incident with the Puppet Master, Raven and Starfire had momentarily switched bodies. This accident, although bringing many disastrous results, allowed the two very different girls to finally learn about each other. Starfire couldn't understand how emotionless and unfeeling her friend Raven could be. However, she was able to gain respect for Raven's self-control as she experienced the difficulty of handling the telekinetic powers of her friend. And in turn, Raven had grown to admire Starfire's endless optimism and unbridled joy.

Their friendship was close and their bond didn't have to be proven through frequent trips to the mall of shopping or the painting of the toenails. Starfire knew that Raven rarely enjoyed such girlish events and that the only times she consented was in favor to her endless pleas. So in return, Starfire would every now and then join Raven in meditation or during her study of the magical arts.

Starfire knew she had to find her friend. If she lost her, it would be like losing a sister.

* * *

Cyborg rushed inside the tower in search of his small dark friend. He first checked the interior of the tower. The training room, the common room, the hallway, even Raven's forbidden room. But there were no signs of her. Cyborg shouted in frustration as he went to the main tower system to scan for Raven's signal all across the city. It killed him that he couldn't even get a reading on her.

Cyborg knew that he and Raven probably had the weakest relationship out of the other Titan members. But he also believed that they shared the most special and unique bond. He and Raven barely held any similarities or interests. The girl rarely talked or joined in video games with the others. But Cyborg respected her silence and her preference for space and privacy. And Raven tended not to question Cyborg's opinions or actions either.

He felt obligated to protect her, like she was his little sister. She never spoke much but Cyborg knew that inside she cared, probably the most, out of the entire team. After all, she was the only one who stuck with him when he lost his T-car. She assisted him whenever he fixed or upgraded it; it had become like tradition and even though it was one of the only activities they engaged together in, it was meaningful.

She treated him as just another human being, not a half-metal monster. And for that, he was ever grateful. They shared a mutual feeling of trust, of understanding, and of platonic love.

* * *

Robin drove around the block on his motorcycle but there were no signs of dark-blue hair or indigo colored robes. The communicator he clutched in his left-hand was silent, indicating that the others weren't having any luck as well.

"Raven…" Robin muttered to himself, "Where are you?"

'Give me a sign, anything. Lead us to where you are, like you always did before,' Robin sighed inwardly as he circled around the same block again.

Robin always felt connected with Raven, as he had once let her inside his mind. He felt that he understood her best out of all the Titans and vice versa. He knew that she was always trying to restrain her emotions and fight the darkness inside of her. He knew about her insecurities and her anxieties, her concerns and her less-obvious emotions. He rarely pried, knowing that the girl enjoyed privacy, much like how he did as well.

Whenever she went out on her own, although sometimes her actions were cryptic and her motives were unknown, he always believed that she did what was best for the team. He found himself quite similar to Raven's character. They were quiet, serious, and hard-working. They were independent and strong. They always prioritized the well-being of others than their own.

But they were also the complete opposite. He was dogged and stubborn when it came to his goals; he had chased Slade down, to the near level of obsession, and had almost driven himself mad by the end of it. Meanwhile Raven was always the voice of reason. She remained calm and unshaken throughout most of her battles. She never lost her senses when the situation aggravated. She kept everyone in balance and in check. She stood up and executed plans whenever he failed in his duties as a leader. She was their friend. She was their watchful protector. She was their shadow, but she was their light. She was their stability. She was their sanity. They needed her, desperately. And Robin would stop at nothing to find her.

* * *

Beast Boy sped around every block, every corner, and every alley. He visited the small range of shops and stores that Raven went to during her leisure time. The usual corners he had seen her sit at her favorite cafe and bookstore were vacant.

There was only one more place he could think of where Raven could be. He raced in desperation, until his feet brought him to the old, abandoned library in the outskirts of the town. Quickly, he jumped inside, and morphed into an eagle to fly all the way down to the bottom, avoiding the tiring staircases. He ignored the stiffness of his body and the aches leftover from the battle with Trigon. Right now, he had no time to focus on his injuries. Upon reaching the floor, he turned back into his human form.

He was back in the chamber where it had all started. Most of the room seemed to be battered up; there were remains of rock and cement on the ground from the statue of the hand that Raven had stood on when she became the portal.

"Raven?" he asked with uncertainty. His question was answered only by his own echo.

Beast Boy looked around the room and from his animal instincts knew that it was empty. His ears drooped in disappointment. He had searched for nearly four hours and Raven was nowhere to be found. He sat down on the cold stone floor, trying to sort out of his thoughts and feelings.

There was emptiness inside and definitely a large amount of sadness and grief. There was also anger rising in him. Where could she have gone? Why would she leave? What had happened to her?

He slammed his fist down on the ground in frustration and anguish.

"Beast Boy?" a voice called out from behind. The green changeling jolted up and turned around quickly. He was too distressed to have sensed anyone approaching.

He was saddened to see that it wasn't Raven. It was the other Titans.

"Did you find her?" he asked with a deep sense of longing. He already knew the answer to the question from their dim faces.

"I couldn't find her," Robin shook his head.

"I have searched all of the sky but could not find any trace of our friend Raven," Starfire said in a gloomy voice much unlike her usual tone.

"She's not at the tower," Cyborg sighed as he tapped around a few buttons on his mechanical arm, "and I can't even get a signal from her."

"We have to keep looking," Beast Boy cried, "She has to be somewhere!"

"But where could she be?" Starfire looked anxious, "Perhaps she has been taken by Trigon?"

"No, Raven defeated Trigon," Beast Boy retorted, "I saw him disappear into the light."

"Maybe…she left?" Cyborg suggested tentatively.

"Raven's a pretty hard person to track…" Robin contemplated on the idea, "especially if she doesn't want to be found."

"Why wouldn't she want to be found?" Beast Boy shouted loudly, "She's in danger, I know it! Something happened after she defeated Trigon. There has to be an explanation for why she disappeared!"

"Beast Boy, you need to calm down," Robin said, resting his hand gently on the boy's shoulder. The green boy did not answer but merely nodded rather reluctantly.

"We'll find her, no matter what it takes," Robin said with determination, "We won't give up until she's back with us."

"First, let's get back to the tower," Cyborg proposed, "Do a little research from there. I'm sure we'll be able to find something."

"We always do," Robin agreed and told the team they would now retreat back to their home.

They turned towards the opening of the chamber and walked out. Robin stopped midway and looked back at Beast Boy who remained stationary.

"Beast Boy, let's go," Robin said firmly, although he was careful to make sure it didn't sound like an order.

"Yeah… Don't worry," Beast Boy muttered weakly, "I'll catch up."

Robin seemed to hesitate, but soon left, leaving Beast Boy all alone in the dark.

Beast Boy looked around the room once more, memories flooding him. He was determined to protect her and keep Slade from entering the tower. He was mad when he thought she had given up, walking out of the safety haven by her own free will. He was touched by her final farewell and her last attempts to protect them from the apocalypse. He was terrified when he saw her chant the prophecy. He was horrified to see the red marks appear across her pale body. He was frightened as her body began to disintegrate into the portal. He was lost when he thought she was gone. He was utterly relieved when he found out that she was alive, even if she was not the Raven he used to know. He was overwhelmingly joyful when he realized that she had returned, completely, as her usual self. And now it seemed destiny was playing a cruel trick on them. He was back to square one.

He was mad that she was gone, angry that the world had taken her away again, furious at himself for not being able to protect her.

He was frustrated that she was nowhere to be found.

He was confused, not knowing what had happened to her.

He was worried sick, his mind drifting to all the troublesome scenarios Raven could be caught in at the moment.

He was also perplexed by all the emotions he were feeling. The deep attachment he felt towards his dark friend, a connection he had never found so strong before. Only recently, from the episodes of her absence, had he realized what a significant part she was in his life.

* * *

_"__I…I thought you didn't like me," Raven said quietly as she rubbed her head from her injury._

_"__Thought you didn't like me," Beast Boy said sheepishly._

_The two exchanged a look of understanding, both grinning silently at each other._

* * *

He had never gotten along beautifully with Raven. He was never sure what the girl thought of him. He assumed that her feelings towards him weren't all positive, considering that he annoyed the living daylights out of her with his jokes and silly pranks. It was incredibly ironic that the way they bonded, how they truly became friends, was by him invading her mind and messing with her most private thoughts.

Beast Boy smiled inwardly as he thought about her, feeling a bit warm for the first time in days.

* * *

_"__Why are ducks so funny?" Beast Boy asked, then said the punch line without waiting too long for an answer, "Because they're always quacking jokes!"_

_He laughed, seemingly being the only one to have found it amusing. Robin and Cyborg both cringed from the front seats of the car. Starfire seemed to be pondering on the joke._

_ "__Pull over," Raven said dryly, "I think I'm going to be sick."_

_ "__Oh, I see!" Starfire laughed, "It is humorous because ducks lack the large brain necessary for the telling of jokes."_

_ "__Actually Starfire," Robin explained to the confused alien girl, "it just wasn't humorous."_

_ "__Huh?" Beast Boy looked deeply surprised at the other's reactions._

_ "__Because Beast Boy lacks the large brain necessary for making jokes," Raven commented rather sharply._

_ "__Aw, c'mon Raven, you know I'm hilarious!" Beast Boy protested, "And I'm not going to give up until I get you to smile."_

_He seemed to think seriously for a moment then said, "Okay, why did the aardvark cross the road?"_

_ "__To beat up the idiot telling jokes about it?" Raven answered back tonelessly._

_Robin snickered and Cyborg laughed quite loudly while Starfire looked confused as ever, asking whether or not an aardvark was some form of duck. _

_Beast Boy sighed in defeat._

* * *

Beast Boy knew that his jokes and incessant pranks bothered Raven. It never gave him a reason to stop though. The way he continuously prodded her, it was the only way to drag some form of emotion out of her. The girl was always so reserved. It was amusing to see her fuming in annoyance. He had taken it, many times, too far. There was the time when he had called her "creepy" when she refused to join in extreme sports with him. Looking back, he felt ashamed and stupid. He had apologized, of course, but he knew how much pain he had caused her at the time.

* * *

_"__Raven?" Beast Boy cautiously knocked on her door, "It's me."_

_There was no answer from inside._

_ "__Look," Beast Boy said quietly, "I'm sorry."_

_ "__For what?" her voice came out weakly from behind the thick door, "You're not the one who-_

_ "__No," Beast Boy cut her off, "I'm sorry that…he broke your heart."_

_He inwardly slapped himself. That wasn't the reason why he had knocked on her door. He was there to apologize for cutting her down with his words._

_ "__I know it was all a lie. But he was the only person who ever made me feel like I wasn't…creepy," her voice sounded so painful._

_Beast Boy didn't know what to say. _

_ "__And don't try to tell me I'm not," Raven snapped, with a more biting tone, as if she knew what he was about to say. _

_ "__Okay, fine, you're way creepy," Beast Boy admitted then added softly, "But that doesn't mean you have to stay locked in your room. You think you're alone, Raven…but you're not."_

_He wasn't sure if that was the best thing to say at the moment. There was only silence coming from her room. He wondered whether or not he should leave her alone now, hoping his words hadn't exacerbated the situation. Then suddenly the door opened. Raven stared up at him for a moment, her eyes glimmering with a strange light, and then approached him quickly, embracing him into a tight hug. She was holding onto him, as if her life depended on it. _

_ "__Uh…" Beast Boy was flustered, not used to such affectionate actions from the girl. He untangled himself from her and stared into her violet eyes, ready to say something charming and reassuring…until he was interrupted by a malodorous ball smacking him across the face._

* * *

Beast Boy chuckled lightly. Cyborg had stomped all over the two's first ever intimate encounter. He remembered how in the aftermath of it, Raven gently picked up the stinky ball from the ground and slammed it into Cyborg's stomach with a sinister smile, knocking him out for several minutes. He heard the warm sound of laughter escape from her lips as well. It was a beautiful sound and he knew he had to hear it again. Perhaps it was a silly reason, but from then on Beast Boy became even more driven to make her laugh.

It was fun to engage in a light banter with her; he never actually won the argument but he enjoyed every single one of them. Her comebacks were the best out of all the other Titans. He missed the sarcastic tone of her voice whenever she responded to his stupid tactics.

* * *

_ "__You wimps think you can take down Adonis?" the man in a huge, buff, robotic su__it taunted the Titans while cracking his knuckles._

_ "__Dude, it is totally brunged!" Beast Boy paused and then attempted to correct himself, "branged!" _

_ "__Ooh, bad grammar. That ought to scare him," Raven said sarcastically from behind him._

* * *

Beast Boy frowned. That was a memory of another nightmare. On that day, the chemicals had messed with his DNA and had unleashed something primal. He grew rude and hostile, being consumed by the beast within him.

He shuddered at the memory of trying to hurt Raven, wanting to fight her and tear her apart from limb to limb. He probably would have, if the other Titans hadn't intervened. And he was aghast when Robin and the others told him that he had transformed into a beast and kidnapped Raven from the tower. How they had found her in his teeth. He still remembered the way she soundlessly floated on the medical bed next to him, not moving at all.

When Beast Boy finally regained his sanity, he was relieved to find out that he hadn't been the one to hurt her. But he was still troubled nonetheless. The beast was still inside him and he couldn't help but play all the 'what-if' sequences in his head. What if he lost control? What if he had hurt her?

* * *

_"__That thing," Beast Boy said in a shaky voice, "That beast…came from inside me. And it's still there. I can feel it."_

_"__Good." _

_Her voice rang through his brain and completely took him off guard. He looked up at her in bewilderment. For how could there be an upside to having a savage beast locked up inside?_

_"__If it wasn't for that beast, I might not be here right now," Raven said calmly, as she sat down next to him on the rocks, her eyes piercing into his._

_"__Having that thing inside doesn't make you an animal," she continued, her voice soft and relaxing, "Knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man."_

_Beast Boy titled his head sideways and looked at her. She probably didn't realize the extent to which her words affected him. Through her presence, he had gone from emotional turmoil to complete serenity. He wondered how she could do it; how she could make someone feel so soothed and relaxed in a matter of seconds._

_"__So…Maybe you should call me…Beast Man from now on?" he stood up and posed heroically, hoping to lighten the mood in gratitude for cheering him up._

_"__We're having a moment here," Raven remained stolid, "Don't ruin it."_

_He quickly sat back down, still grinning rather dumbly._

_After a long moment of silence, he asked in persistence, "Beast Dude?"_

_She groaned loudly in response._

* * *

Beast Boy looked down at the ground. His emotions were overcoming him and he felt his sight become slightly blurry from impending tears. That was when something caught his eye. There was a golden glimmer on the ground amidst all the dust and piles of rubble. He bent down and gently picked the object up. He recognized it as a penny, the same penny he had given Raven on the day the world ended.

Raven had carried it with her until the end. She was resolved to follow the prophecy of her birth, but in the depths of it all, she had never ceased to hope. That was the reason why she left them some of her powers. That was the reason why she tried so hard to shield them from Trigon. That was the reason why she held onto the penny as the world came tumbling towards its end.

Hope.

Beast Boy remembered the words he had said to her as he placed the penny into her hand.

_"For luck." _

Beast Boy clenched onto the penny tightly.

The world had been cruel to Raven. Fate had been relentless. Luck never appeared to be on their side. But whenever everything seemed to be lost, hope always rescued them from the deepest depths of despair.

And so.. this time he would hope, for the both of them.


	3. Chapter 3 The Rift (1)

There were noisy voices coming from outside the Titans' tower. The sound of incessant knocking echoed loudly through the common room. Cyborg got up from the breakfast table, evidently annoyed. He stormed off to greet the unwanted visitors at the front door of the tower. He slammed the entrance open to find a large crowd of people and the blinding light of camera flashes. Cyborg quickly put up his metallic hand in order to shield his human eye from the bright light.

"The door's opened! Mike, get the camera ready!"

"We are here live on the Teen Titans headquarters and…"

Cyborg opened his eyes and, to his horror, saw hordes of cameras and microphones being pointed at his general direction.

"Aw man," Cyborg sighed, "Not again."

"Sir, how does it feel like to have survived the world apocalypse?"

"Were the Teen Titans responsible at all for the end of the world?"

"How did you manage to bring back prosperity?"

"Why have the Teen Titans been inactive for the past week?"

"Is there are a reason for the sudden disappearance of-"

There was a loud scream of delight that emitted from the back of the crowd. Cyborg cringed as the voices grew louder, which he believed would have been impossible just a few seconds ago. A figure with spiky hair had appeared beside Cyborg, clearly making the situation worse.

"It's _him_! It's Robin!"

"Is it on? Is it _on_?"

"Get a good, long shot of him, Mike!"

"Robin, how do you feel as the leader of the team to have saved the entire world from damnation?"

"Do you feel satisfied with your team's role in Jump City?"

"Have you ever-

"Enough!" Robin roared. The shutters of the camera silenced and the crowd of people stared at Robin in surprise and anticipation.

"We have nothing else to say to the press," Robin said firmly, "Please leave."

"If you can answer a few questions-"

"I'm sorry but the answer is no," Robin deadpanned.

"But you saved the world from a living hell!" one of the reporters protested angrily from the lack of cooperation, "Don't you have anything to say?"

"We were just doing our job," Robin said shortly, "Now, please excuse us…"

Robin pulled Cyborg into the room and began to close the door. The crowd of people fought back, trying to keep the entrance open and attempting to shove their cameras into the tower one last time, until the door finally slammed shut.

The two stared at the door in silence. There were loud noises from the other side but after a while the sounds began to die out.

"Don't answer the door next time," Robin cautioned then walked back into the common room without another word. Cyborg merely nodded then followed. The two sat down on the coaches in front of the television. It took a while until one of them decided to speak.

"So did you manage to get any clues on Raven?" Cyborg questioned.

"Nothing," Robin grunted in frustration, "Not a single trace."

"It's like…she never even existed…" Cyborg sighed.

"I don't understand," Robin growled, his eyes narrowing, "How can someone just vanish like that? There has to be some sort of an explanation…"

The door to the common room slid open and Starfire floated into the room.

"Friends…? Starfire said carefully, "I thought I heard loud shouting…"

"It was just the media," Robin brushed off, "Don't worry about it, Starfire."

She nodded in response then questioned, "Were we able to find anything about our friend Raven?"

"No," Robin and Cyborg answered in union.

"I see…" Starfire landed on the ground with a grim expression.

She looked around and noticed the absence of a certain green-skinned friend.

"Where is Beast Boy?" she asked.

"He never came in yesterday," Robin explained, "He's still outside in the city, searching."

"But he has been looking for the entire week!" Starfire's eyes widened, "We must assist! He must be all tired and alone and-

The door slid open abruptly and Beast Boy came inside. He looked terrible. There were black circles under his eyes. His clothes were dirty and stained. His hair was disheveled and unkempt.

"Beast Boy! You are here!" Starfire shouted happily, though her cheeriness deflated as soon as she saw the sight of his condition. Beast Boy ignored her comment. He flopped himself on the coach next to the others and looked down at the ground, wearing a very sullen face.

"Dude, you need to rest," Cyborg told him with a worried expression.

"I'm fine," Beast Boy said simply.

"Are you kidding me?" Cyborg frowned, "You look like you haven't slept, for like, a month."

"I'm fine," Beast Boy repeated himself, this time with more impatience. He was quick to change the subject, "Did you find anything?"

Robin shook his head.

Beast Boy growled, "She's got to be somewhere."

"I know that," Robin bit back. He was already on the edge due to the pressures as the team leader and the responsibilities he felt over Raven's disappearance.

"What have you guys been _doing _this whole time? Huh?" Beast Boy began to raise his voice, "Looking at old books and messing with fancy gadgets isn't going to find her! We need to be out _there_, looking for her!"

"Do you seriously think that if Raven was out there, we wouldn't be able to track her down?" Cyborg raised his eyebrow, "My system tells me that she's nowhere on earth."

"I don't care what your stupid machines say! She's out there!" Beast Boy shouted as he pounced off the coach to face the other Titans, "We're not looking hard enough!"

"What do you mean we're not looking hard enough?" Cyborg roared as, he too, got up from his seat to tower over his short friend, "Just because we haven't been sniffing around the city as a green dog all day long doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything!"

"Then how come you haven't found her yet!"

"Well, how come you've got nothing on her either!"

"What makes you-?" Beast Boy was cut off by Robin, who had rather forcefully pushed the two apart from the middle. Starfire looked extremely relieved.

"That's enough," he said roughly, "We can't afford to be fighting right now."

"We've been searching for the past two weeks," Cyborg groaned loudly, "If she was here, we should have found her by now! So what's the point?"

"What did you say?" Beast Boy said through gritted teeth.

"I said – I don't see what the point is anymore!" Cyborg yelled, "I think we all know what we've been doing for the past few days!"

"What do you mean," Beast Boy snarled.

"We've been in denial!" Cyborg bellowed, "Face it! Raven defeated Trigon, the most evil demon in the universe, who just so happened to be her father and creator. There had got to be some consequences for doing that!"

"Do you mean to say that…?" Starfire asked weakly.

"She's gone!" Cyborg cried out in exasperation, "She must have sacrificed herself in order to defeat Trigon and protect the city! She's gone, all right? _She is_ _gone_!"

His voice shook a bit as he began to calm down, "And none of…none of this, is going to change that."

There was a moment of silence.

"No."

The other Titans faced the green changeling.

"I don't accept that," Beast Boy said firmly.

"That's right," Robin finally opened his mouth, "We can't give up on Raven yet. Not after everything she's done for us. We'll just have to keep searching and retrace our steps until we find her."

Cyborg looked down at Robin then at Beast Boy. He didn't look angry or frustrated anymore. He appeared defeated and too tired to talk.

"You guys do want you want," Cyborg murmured as he turned his back towards them. He proceeded to walk out the corridor.

"Wait, please do not go!" Starfire tried to stop him but the door slammed shut and the man was gone.

"Leave him," Beast Boy said viciously.

"But we must all look for friend Raven together," Starfire cried.

"I said leave him!" Beast Boy rounded on her, his fangs protruding in anger.

"Hey!" Robin intersected, eyeing the green boy with a harsh glance, "Beast Boy, enough is enough. We'll find Raven but not if you keep acting like this."

"Acting like what?" Beast Boy dared.

"Like the time you unleashed the beast," Robin narrowed his eyes, "Beast Boy, taking out your anger out on us isn't going to resolve anything. You need to stop acting as if we're your enemies."

"Well maybe _you_ should stop acting like you know everything and quit bossing everyone around just because you're the team leader!" Beast Boy pointed his finger at Robin in accusation, "Because right now, you're pretty much sucking at it!"

"I'm doing the best I can," Robin swallowed back his anger and tried to reply back in a calm manner.

"Whatever," Beast Boy snapped as he turned his back on the other Titans, "Don't even bother trying anymore."

"I'll find her on my own," he stated, then stormed out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4 The Rift (2)

The tension from the morning argument continued on to the next day. There was an awkward silence as Starfire entered the common room that would have been empty without Cyborg's presence. He was sitting at the kitchen table, looking down at a plate of bacon and half-eaten toast. Starfire eyed the tin man cautiously before finally opening her mouth.

"It is a good morning, is it not?" she said nervously, not knowing what else to say.

"I guess," Cyborg mumbled back. He didn't look angry but Starfire knew well not to push her friend after yesterday's explosion.

"Where is Robin?" Starfire asked timidly.

"In his room."

"And…Beast Boy?"

"I don't know."

"Did he…leave the tower? Perhaps we should go look," Starfire suggested, in desperate hope of continuing the conversation.

"I think it's best if we left him alone right now," Cyborg replied quietly.

"Oh…" Starfire paused then made a tiny grin, "Have you had finished the breakfast already? Maybe we can share a slice of pizza or a-

"I'm done," Cyborg snapped. He immediately regretted biting at the alien girl, who looked deeply crestfallen at his comment.

"Sorry Star," he said slowly, "I didn't mean to shout. It's just…"

The room grew silent as Cyborg couldn't find the right words to say.

"I cooked some extra bacon and eggs for you," Cyborg cleared his throat as he shoved a plate of food towards Starfire's direction. He pulled out a bottle of mustard from a drawer and set it on the table. He tried his best to smile at her, "Just the way you like them."

Starfire nodded gratefully, "Thank you."

"I'm going to go train for a little while," Cyborg said quickly. After another short moment of silence, he exited out of the room.

Starfire walked to the kitchen and sat down at the deserted table. The tower was so silent, it was eerie. Starfire couldn't stand it – the silence, the discomfort, the tension – it made the tower, which she called home, seem so foreign. She glanced down at a round plate with a few strands of bacon and two fried eggs, a bit burnt on the sides. Starfire reached out and grabbed the bottle of mustard, then began to squeeze the yellow paste onto her food. She picked up one of the eggs with a fork and shoved it into her mouth. It was sharp, pungent, and cold. The stinging flavor of her eggs, which would have normally pleased her, brought her no satisfaction or fulfillment. She felt empty. That was all she had been feeling recently, emptiness.

Deciding that any more isolation would lead to her insanity, Starfire abruptly stood up and hurriedly ran out of the common room. She was in dire need of some company. She floated across the corridor and found the door to Robin's room.

She knocked cautiously. There was no answer. She once again knocked but there was no reply.

"Robin?" Starfire called out, "Please, may I enter?"

The room remained dormant for a while until it suddenly slid open. Starfire peered inside. The room was a mess. It was dark and dusty. The only light inside the room was coming from an overhead light above a large desk that had documents scattered all across it. The wall was covered with newspaper clippings about crime activity in Jump City. There were papers littered on the floor. Starfire noticed a familiar symbol on one of the documents – a dreadful mark printed in bold red – the mark of Scath.

Robin was standing in front of his desk. He was leaning forward, simply staring down at the jumble of items on his desk.

"I am wondering if you might wish to-

"No," Robin cut shortly without turning his head towards her direction.

-talk," Starfire finished quietly.

"Thanks…" Robin added solemnly, "But I need to figure out what happened. I have to find her."

"Agreed," Starfire smiled weakly, "And perhaps if you were to take a break, the answer would be easier to-

"I can't," Robin said sharply.

"But if you continue to-

"Don't you get it Starfire?" Robin shouted and angrily turned towards her, "I can't!"

"Robin…" Starfire looked at him with a sad expression, "We are all most upset but we must not-

"No, you don't understand!" Robin argued back, "I can't stop until I find her."

His hand grabbed the side of his head as he felt another migraine resurface, "I let her go. I let her disappear."

"But that was not your-

"Something happened to Raven and I can't find her!" Robin roared, "Don't you understand that? This is my responsibility! I'm the team leader! This is my fault!"

Robin shouted in frustration and slammed his desk with his fist. Several documents and electrical devices fell off the table.

"It was most certainly not your fault," Starfire tried to comfort him, "Robin, you have done your best. We all have."

"No," Robin shook his head violently, "I could have done something. I _should have _done something. Beast Boy was right… For this whole week, I've accomplished nothing. I promised you guys that I would bring her back…"

"You did bring her back," Starfire argued, "Our friend returned and was able to defeat Trigon thanks to you Robin."

"But what's the point," Robin shook his head, "She's gone now. I broke my promise. If only I was stronger…I could have defeated Trigon. There…there had to be another way. There _had to be_."

"Only friend Raven could have defeated Trigon," Starfire said sadly, "There was nothing that could have been done..."

"Don't say that!" Robin growled, "I can still fix this! I can figure out a way to get her back!"

"Robin… I would want nothing more than for our friend to return," Starfire said softly, "But you must not hurt yourself while trying to save her."

"That's not what's important right now, Star, what's important is that-

"Please!" Starfire cried, "You must not say such words!"

Robin fell silent. Starfire's eyes began to glimmer with large drops of tears.

"Can you not see what is happening to us?" Starfire whispered, "Our friends are starting to drift apart. It is beginning to look a lot like…"

"Star…" Robin sighed.

"…like the future that I have once visited," Starfire sobbed and began to shudder, "Robin, I do not wish for us to end up in such a horrible future!"

"Star…that's not going to happen," Robin reassured her, but his voice shook from his own uncertainty. He was beginning to realize what an enormous gap Raven had left behind, a hole that he, even as the team's leader, could never fill.

"Robin, we need our friend Raven back," Starfire said glumly. Her hands reached out and softly touched his shoulder in comfort.

"But we also need our leader."

Robin said nothing but reached out to touch Starfire's. He felt the warmth of her skin for a few moments before gently pulling her hand off of his shoulder.

"You should go…" Robin said quietly.

Starfire merely nodded. She took a few steps backwards but kept her face forward, staring at Robin. Her large, bright green eyes were pleading with him silently. But he couldn't face her now. The door quickly shut and he was once again engulfed by the darkness of his room.

"I'm sorry," Robin whispered, to no one in particular.


	5. Chapter 5 The Struggle (1)

Cyborg was a cynical man. This he could not deny.

Cyborg loved Raven. Loved her as a friend, loved her as a team member, and loved her as a little sister.

He found it ironic to think of Raven as his younger sibling. He was a year or two older, but at most times, she acted more mature and adult-like than he ever could.

He had always felt connected with her. Sure, they have had arguments in the past, but most of them were minor and insignificant – often harmless quarrels over the volume of noise or the missing whereabouts of the remote control. He was always careful not to cross the boundaries she laid upon. He wasn't as nagging and nosy as Beast Boy; he knew when she wanted space and he respected that.

There was a loud crashing sound as Cyborg dropped the large dumbbells onto the floor. He shook his head, his body tired from the intense workout and his head throbbing from his own thoughts. The dumbbells left a small crater in the ground but they were quickly dismissed.

Cyborg began to doubt himself.

He spent half his life wondering about his identity: was he a machine or was he a man? Raven, one of the few people who had accepted him for who he was, always made him believe that the answer did not matter. What mattered was how he thought of himself. Along with her and the rest of the Titans, he truly believed in the purity of his human heart.

But with her recent disappearance, he felt his mind begin to wander to the brink of insanity.

Cyborg cared for Raven, so much that he didn't understand the emotions he were feeling regarding her disappearance. He didn't know the reasons behind his outburst towards Beast Boy. Cyborg couldn't understand why he was so adamant on arguing that his dear friend was no longer alive. If he truly cared about her, would he have given up her? Was his bond towards her so shallow that he would have lost faith on her already?

But for a strange, twisted reason, Cyborg could not hope. He was not confident like Robin, trusting like Beast Boy, or optimistic like Starfire.

How fitting his name was to him. He truly felt like a cyborg, dead and unfeeling. A machine made of metal and no emotions; a mere copy of a human being. Even though his heart was beating, proving his humanity, he had never felt so close to being a mere automaton.

"No…that's not it," Cyborg grunted as he picked up one of the dumbbells from the ground. He clenched it hard with his metallic hand. He knew he loved Raven and that he would have done anything to bring her back. He set the dumbbells back onto its shelf in silence.

Cyborg had always been cynical. In a way, that was the most similar quality he shared with Raven. It was simply harder to see the darker side of Cyborg, who often hid back his pessimism behind a cheery grin. But now, with her absence, he knew what he had to do. The chances of her reappearing were slim. No matter how much he hoped his heart would tell him otherwise, no matter how hard he wished he would remain strong like the other Titans, the sardonic side of him could no longer hold back his insecurities and doubts. But why? Why was he feeling this way?

Perhaps he was selfish. He didn't want to prolong the search of his friend to only find nothing in the end. He thought that it would be best to end the process before it even began. Because the longer he held onto her, the longer he kept hoping, in the end, he would find nothing and his already empty heart would wither away into the dust. He was afraid of his own pain and misery in the future. Yes, the reason he _wouldn't _hope was because he was a coward.

And this was a satisfying answer to Cyborg. He would rather be a coward because the alternative was much worse; to not admit his cowardice would mean that he would have to admit a more horrid truth about himself – that he was never fully human but a cold monster disguised by mortal flesh – a tin man without a real heart, unable to truly love and have faith.

And he would never believe that to be true.

To stamp out hope himself, before it could die on its own...

Grief makes people irrational.

But this made sense.

He had a heart; a soul.

He would not hope.

He was just a coward.

It seemed logical.


	6. Chapter 6 The Struggle (2)

Beast Boy remained tied to his room. He had spent the first two weeks, outside, searching for her trail. He was restless for days; he couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat. Cyborg had to give him a sedative to stop working and shut his eyes for the night. By the end of the third week, he was too mentally weak to even walk out of his room door.

Robin, after two weeks of rigorous searching, had announced to the Teen Titans that he had failed to find her. Beast Boy knew not to hate Robin. Robin cared for Raven like his own family member. But he was the team leader, and he had to make a constructive decision that was best for the entire team as well as the well-being of Jump City. Robin apologized numerous times, and told Beast Boy that though the Titans had to resume their normal routines on saving the city and put a hold on her search, they would continue to hope, just like they had done so with Terra.

* * *

_"Beast Boy..." Robin said after a prolonged silence, "I'm sorry I couldn't find her."_

_"...I know," Beast Boy managed to say._

_"We aren't giving up on her... We just...need to start learning how to live...without her," Robin tried to reason with the changeling, "And at times like this... This is when the Titans really need to stick together. I don't want our team to fall apart."_

_"...I'm sorry too..." Beast Boy muttered bitterly, "I know that you tried your best, Robin. I just... I don't want to believe that she's...gone. I didn't mean to act like a jerk."_

_"I understand," Robin smiled slightly, placing a sympathetic hand on Beast Boy's shoulder._

* * *

He had argued against it, for a little while. But he knew better than to fight against Robin's judgement. After all, the leader looked guilty enough at his own choice. The other members tried to return back to their usual lives. Starfire fought to bring back the harmonious air within the tower. Robin trained harder to make up for the hole Raven left in the team. And Cyborg tried consistently to make amends with Beast Boy by attempting to cheer him up.

But Beast Boy was depressed, far more anguished than he had ever been in his life, about ten times worse than he had felt with the disappearance of Terra.

It was as if his soul had disappeared and his body had merely become a shell. He was now just a shadow of his former self.

Lying down on his bed in the afternoon, he wondered what would happen next. How would he manage to go on without her? It had been a while, thought the green boy, since he lied down in his bed for days, doing nothing but stare blankly up at the ceiling. The last time he was this despondent, it had been Raven who managed to cheer him up. But now that she was gone, nobody was there to lift him back on his feet.

Beast Boy realized that she had always been there for him, during the good times and the bad. She was the only one that stood by him after the Terra incident. When Terra had been frozen into a statue after she sacrificed herself to protect the city, he was unable to feel like himself for weeks. The other teammates tried to comfort him, but they couldn't understand him fully. And soon, they seemed to have given up, simply saying that what he needed was time and space. But what he really needed was comfort and company. What he needed was somebody to tell him, to reassure him that everything would be okay, and that he would be able to trust and love again.

* * *

_"__Beast Boy?" there was a loud knock on his door but the green boy didn't reply. It was almost noon but he was still lying down on his bed. His blanket was on the ground and his room was a complete mess; dirty laundry and leftover food decorated every inch of the floor._

_There was another knock on the door. _

_"__Go away," Beast Boy said lazily. He was still tired and didn't feel like getting out of bed to face Robin ordering him to start training again, Cyborg telling him to stop moping around, or Starfire attempting to make him feel better with her strange alien recipes. _

_The door opened on its own accord and Beast Boy grunted in annoyance. He looked up from his bed as the door closed behind the figure that entered. The door was encased in black energy for a moment until it stood still._

_Beast Boy looked up in wonder as he realized it was Raven who had entered his room. Her hood was down, revealing her pale, grayish face. In her hands was a small silver tray with food. There was a look of disgust and disapproval etched on her face as she looked around his cluttered room but she otherwise did not make any rude comments._

_"__Raven?" Beast Boy called out her name, not believing what he was seeing, and then flopped back onto his bed, laughing humorlessly, "I must be really losing it. Seeing a fake Raven in my own room."_

_"__I'm not a mirage," Raven replied._

_"__Yeah, yeah," Beast Boy waved his hand, indicating for the illusion to go away, "This is probably a dream so I'm just going to go back to sleep and-"_

_"__Beast Boy," Raven said clearly, "I'm real."_

_He sat up on his bed and stared up at her dumbly._

_"__Raven?" he checked once again._

_"__Glad to know you're as quick as ever," Raven droned. _

_"__Okay…?" he said in confusion, although now he was completely convinced it was her, "Why are you in my room?"_

_"__You've been in here for the past few days," Raven said calmly, "So I thought I would bring up breakfast to your bed…well I guess now…it's more like lunch."_

_She sighed as she looked up at the clock then back at the boy._

_"__You," he repeated, looking doubtful, "brought me breakfast."_

_"__Yes," Raven replied shortly._

_"__You," he asked again, "brought me breakfast…voluntarily?"_

_"__Yes," Raven said, this time through gritted teeth, "And unless you want your breakfast down your throat by force, you better stop asking stupid questions."_

_Beast Boy gulped at her rather convincing threat and outstretched his hands to take the tray from her hands. He looked down at his breakfast and was shocked to see that it resembled his usual vegetarian meal. It was tofu eggs and tofu bacon with tofu milk. _

_"__How'd you make all this?" he asked in amazement, not being able to recall any memories of Raven attempting to cook something in the kitchen. _

_"__There were some leftovers frozen in the fridge," Raven shrugged it off like it was nothing, "I just heated them up."_

_"__Oh," he said but he was still touched at what the girl had done for him. Raven rarely tried to take care of someone else. If a person was in moral peril, falling off a building to his or her doom, then yes, she would go ahead and save the person. But take the time to make breakfast and carry it all the way into somebody's stinky old room? No, that was completely unnatural. _

_"__Are you going to just stare at the tray or are you feeling so weak that I have to feed it to you?" Raven asked with a withering look._

_"__I'm good!" he said quickly as he picked up the egg with his spoon and swallowed it whole._

_The food was warm and tasty in his mouth. It had been a while since he ate proper food. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had taken a bite. Within minutes Beast Boy had wolfed down the meal._

_"__That was good," Beast Boy sighed happily as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. _

_He looked over at Raven, who had been silently watching him eat from the right side of his bed._

_"__Uh…thanks Rae," he smiled in gratitude, "I guess I really needed that. _

_"__It's Raven," she corrected him as the edge of her lips curved upwards, ever so slightly, "And don't mention it."_

_She stood up from the bed and looked around awkwardly._

_"__So…I guess I'll leave you alone now?" Raven asked hesitantly._

_"__Sure?" Beast Boy didn't seem sure about his answer either, "I guess…I'll try to catch some more rest. I haven't been sleeping well."_

_"__Nightmares, right?" it wasn't a question, but an affirmation._

_Beast Boy nodded, "How'd you know?"_

_"__My powers of empathy," Raven explained calmly, "I can feel your negative thoughts and feelings all the way from my room. They are quite strong…"_

_"…__I guess they're pretty bad dreams," Raven cringed as she added._

_There was a moment of silence until Raven sat back down on his bed. _

_"__Beast Boy…what happened with Terra was…" she tried to find the right word but couldn't, "…I know how much it hurts to be betrayed by someone that you trusted."_

_"__I thought you hated Terra," he inquired with a harsher tone than he wished to speak in, "Weren't you glad that she was gone?"_

_"__I never hated her," she replied calmly, but her voice had become quieter, "It just took me a while for me to trust her…"_

_"__No, you never trusted Terra, and you were right not to," he growled, anger getting the better of him, "You should have rubbed it in and said 'I told you so!'"_

_Raven didn't answer right away. He immediately regretted raising his voice at her; after all, she had done nothing wrong. She was right in not trusting Terra. She was always right._

_"__No, I wasn't right," she said soundly, "Because in the end, Terra protected us. She saved us and the entire city. She was never evil, she was good."_

_"__She was our friend," she stated firmly, looking straight into his eyes, "and she was a person who we could trust."_

_He didn't say another word._

_"__Beast Boy, I know it hurts right now," Raven continued, "But it's going to get better."_

_"__Are you going to tell me that time is the best medicine?" he scoffed, "That in the future, I'll be able to forget about her and just let it all go?"_

_"__No," she frowned, "You should never forget about her."_

_He paused, listening intently at her words._

_"__She'll always be in your heart as your friend and as the person you loved," Raven said softly, "I'm not telling you to let her go. I'm telling you that the world is going to move on, just the same, as if she never existed. But she'll continue to exist through your heart and your memories."_

_"__So, you'll have to live on…for her as well," she whispered her last words._

* * *

Beast Boy remained awed at the girl's words. The two had shared a long moment of silence afterwards, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable as it had been before. He had fallen asleep, on her lap, which she reluctantly allowed for him to use as a pillow. And she had run her fingers softly through his hair as he slept. Beast Boy remembered how it was the first time in weeks since he was able to experience a dreamless sleep.

It was her way of comforting him. It wasn't forceful like the tough-guy routine Robin put up with him or the loud tactics Cyborg used to try and get him to laugh. No, she was quiet and discreet. It wasn't as bright and energetic as Starfire's methods of trying to make him feel better. Instead, she was silent, but observant. Harsh on the exterior, but inwardly soft and soothing.

Nobody realized that it was thanks to her that Beast Boy was able to get back on his feet. Raven probably didn't even know the healing effect she had on his broken heart. She didn't say a word about it afterwards. He got the vibe that she didn't want him to mention it ever again, perhaps out of embarrassment, considering that she had acted out of her usual character. But he would never forget the way she gently caressed his hair as she calmly put him to sleep.

He desperately needed her comfort at the moment; her reassurance that everything was going to be okay and her magical ability to make everything feel right once she said it.

"Raven…" Beast Boy spoke weakly into the air, "Where are you...?"

* * *

The alarm had gone off in the tower. The red light on Beast Boy's communicator flashed brightly. He picked it up and raced down into the common room where he found Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire.

"Is it-?" Beast Boy started to ask eagerly but he was cut off by Robin's sullen expression.

"It's Plasmus," Robin growled, "Titans, Move!"

The four ran out of the tower and arrived into the city. In a large section of the street, a red monster made up of toxic waste was roaring, breaking cars and damaging buildings as it went.

"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted and they began to take action.

Robin charged forward and took out his long metal stick. He flexed his muscles and swung it hard, right into Plasmus' head. The monster staggered back a little, but was relatively unharmed. It sent a blast of toxic sewage from its mouth, which Robin narrowly dodged.

From the bottom, Cyborg shot at the monster's stomach with his sonic cannon. It only seemed to tickle the creature.

Starfire flew across the sky, her eyes gleaming in its usual green glow. She shot multiple energy bolts at the mutants head. It roared in protest and slashed its arms furiously into the air in attempts to stop her.

"Oh, no you don't!" Cyborg yelled as he pulled out a nearby lamppost from its cement grounding and flung it at Plasmus' head, stopping its pursuit of the alien girl.

Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl and chose to strike when his opponent was distracted. His talons slashed deeply into the monster's skin at great speed, slicing the large arm right off the body.

The arm turned to sludge as it landed on the ground. The monster hissed out in pain until it picked up another nearby truck filled with toxic waste and drained the chemicals all into its mouth. In an instant, the arm grew back in its former place and the mutant roared out in anger towards the Titans.

It swept its arm across the floor and sent Cyborg crashing into a building in the distance.

"You will not harm my friends!" Starfire yelled as she furiously charged towards the mutant. But she was caught in the monster's tight grip and tossed into the side of a building across the street. There were explosions of broken glass as nearby buildings broke down.

Robin, growing angry and impatient, put down his stick and started taking the monster head on. Beast Boy assisted, in the form of a rhinoceros as Robin continued to hit the creature with his fists and feet.

But the monster healed any of its physical injuries and grew back whatever limbs it lost. It was a frustrating battle, and they were losing.

Beast Boy remembered how easily Raven had defeated this villain. She used her soul self to drive into the creature's heart and rendered the human form unconscious. He wished that they had her help at the moment.

Suddenly, something small and round whizzed past Beast Boy's ear. It stuck right onto Plasmus' back. Beast Boy's ears caught a small beeping noise emit from it until it detonated and caused Plasmus to explode into shreds. Pieces of radioactive waste flew all across the city. In the center of the explosion where the mutant monster was previously standing, the usual bald man was lying down, soundlessly asleep in a pool of toxic waste. The other Titans wiped the sewage off of their clothes and looked around, wondering who had come to their rescue.

Beast Boy turned towards the alley where he had seen the bomb fly out from. The rest followed behind him.

"Hello, Titans," a drawling voice spoke out from the shadows, "It's wonderful to see you all again."

"No…" Beast Boy whispered. The Titans stared up at the man in shock. They would have recognized the voice anywhere.

"Slade," Robin growled as the man walked forward, light flooding in from the sun to reveal the familiar half-black and half-golden mask.

"Not in the mood for any warm welcomes, I suppose?" the man taunted in a low and deep voice.

"What do you want Slade?" Robin clenched his fist as he walked forward, "Why did you help us? What are you planning?"

"Save your breath, Robin," Slade said in his usual emotionless voice, "I'm not here for your interrogation."

"If you're thinking that the last time you helped us find Raven will make up for your past crimes, it won't," Robin said adamantly, "You're just another criminal who we're going to bring to justice."

"You mistook my generosity for regret," Slade sneered, "I merely helped you because it suited me. And I simply helped you today because it hurt me to watch all of you engage in such a pathetic fight."

The Titans narrowed their eyes.

"Who would have thought that the Titans would be so weak with only one member short," Slade shrugged, "I guess she really was a big deal. Of course, not that it matters, now that she's gone."

"Shut up!" Beast Boy roared as he lunged forward and slammed Slade onto the side wall.

"Did I offend you in any way?" Slade jeered, completely unruffled by the sudden attack.

"You…" Beast Boy hissed, "Where is she? Tell us where you're hiding her!"

"Me?" Slade sounded annoyed, "What makes you think I know where she is?"

"You always seemed to know before," he snarled as he tightened his grip on Slade's arms, "Now talk."

"The whereabouts of your friend is no longer of my concern," Slade pushed Beast Boy away forcefully, "And it would be pretty hard, even for someone like me, to try to track down someone who no longer exists."

"That's a lie!" Beast Boy cried out in anger, ready to morph into a bear or a tiger to slash the life out of the man who stood before him.

"Think about it," Slade said calmly, "Carefully. You should have at least figured out that she's no longer on Earth. It's because she has fulfilled her entire purpose and her existence is no longer required here."

"What do you mean?" Robin pressed.

"Raven was born under a prophecy. The promise of her birth was absolute," Slade explained, "The only reason, the only purpose she had in her life, was to serve Trigon by opening up the door into the mortal world. So when Trigon was vanquished, she also ceased to exist."

"That's impossible! People don't just cease to exist!" Cyborg retorted.

"Yes," Slade smirked, "Ordinary people don't. But Raven was far from being a normal person, wasn't she? She was a portal."

"Our friend Raven had a higher purpose, a purpose far greater than serving Trigon!" Starfire argued back.

"Perhaps in your eyes she did," Slade jibed, "but to the rest of the world, she was merely a half-breed of a demon, destined to destroy the world."

"She saved it!" Beast Boy shouted savagely, "She saved this world!"

"And now she's gone," Slade glared down at him.

"I don't believe it," the green boy seethed.

"But that doesn't make it any less true," Slade dismissed him shortly. Beast Boy opened his mouth but closed it slowly, apparently speechless.

"So…she really is…" Cyborg muttered underneath his breath. The others fell silent.

"But you're not all in the wrong," Slade broke the reticence, "After all, you heroes always seem to come back fighting. No matter how hard we try to kill you."

The others stared at him, waiting for his next words.

"Raven could still be alive," Slade stated. It was ironic how much hope a villain could instill in them with only a couple of words.

Slade spoke with a tone of fake grief, "But even if she did miraculously live past her expiration date, she wouldn't be able to return to Earth."

"And why wouldn't she be able to?" Robin inquired harshly.

"Technically, your friend was a fugitive," Slade clarified, "The High Council of the Galactic Police naturally wanted her head since she was a child of Trigon's, destined to bring about the world's end. But she lived under the protection of Azarath, a rather…holy city. When she grew up and the sacred city could no longer provide safety for her, she fled to Earth. At Earth, she lived in secret, under the protection but watchful eyes of Trigon."

The Titans stared at the villain in disbelief, trying to register all the new information into their brains.

"If Raven survived then she's not on Earth right now," Slade pondered out loudly, "I guess it's safe to assume that she's locked up in one of the cells in the Galactic Prison.

"Prison?" Beast Boy looked thunderstruck, "But she's a hero!"

"That doesn't negate her demon heritage," Slade pointed out.

"But…this means that Raven could still be alive!" Beast Boy brightened up considerably and turned to his teammates, "We need to go back to the tower and contact the galaxy right now!"

"How touching," Slade sneered.

"Uh…but what about him?" Cyborg gestured towards Slade, "Aren't we going to fight him?"

"If you fought me now, I would annihilate you all," Slade laughed coldly.

"We'll depart for now," Robin's stare hardened, knowing the current state of the team put them in a disadvantageous position, "But the next time we meet, you won't be so lucky."

"How exciting," Slade replied sarcastically, "But unfortunately, this might be the last time we ever meet. I'm moving out of the city today. I've gotten as much use out of Jump City as I can."

Robin looked quite perturbed but he recovered quickly enough.

"We'll find you Slade," Robin warned, "And hunt you down. Be prepared to face the consequences of your crimes."

Slade merely chuckled lightly, not feeling threatened at all by the boy's words. The man turned his back towards them and walked into the dark shadows of the alley.

"I look forward to the day when our paths cross again," his voice echoed until he disappeared without a trace.


	7. Chapter 7 The Lead

"I can connect to the intergalactic Police from our system," Cyborg explained as he began typing in codes into the computer, "I got their contact information from the time Blackfire came around here for a visit."

Starfire nodded, feeling thankful for the first time that her older sister had dropped by on Earth.

The large screen in the common room flashed in white light and then a grey screen appeared. At first, the image was very hazy, but after it gained focus the frame showed a large metallic robot with a red helmet over a pair of bright yellow eyes.

"You have connected the Astral Vanguard, the primary military force of the Natural World Union. Please state your name, place, and demand," the voice asked in a monotonous voice that sounded slightly muffled by the helmet.

"Uh…" Cyborg eyed Robin for help.

"We're the Teen Titans, heroes of the earth, and we are calling to request a meeting with one of the High Officials at your Court," Robin answered clearly.

There was the sound of keyboards being pressed as the man carelessly replied, "I'm sorry but all the High Officials in the intergalactic Law-enforcement department are busy at the moment. I'll leave a message at their desk. You can call back tomorrow and-"

"They can't be all busy," Robin said firmly, "We need to talk to them now. Please inform them that this is urgent."

"I'm sorry, but as I have aforementioned, the High Officials at court are-"

"We're not going to take no for an answer," Robin growled; "Now either you try to contact us through or we'll keep hassling you until you do."

The man retorted impatiently, "Sir, I'm going to disconnect you forcefully if you do not comply with our rules and regulations."

"We've got a working spaceship. And we're not afraid to barge into your department without an invitation," Robin narrowed his eyes, "I think pulling us through right now would cause a lot less trouble later on."

"Watch it man," Cyborg said cautiously, "These guys are the police. The _entire _galaxy's police! If we get on their bad side, there's no way we can find Raven."

Both Robin and the man seemed to have chosen to ignore Cyborg's statement. Robin continued to glare up at the screen as the man looked as if he was avoiding eye contact. He began furiously typing something at his desk. After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence passed, the male voice relinquished a sigh.

"It seems one of our High Officials are available now," he said in an exasperated tone, "Please wait patiently as I connect you to the Court."

There was a loud beeping sound and the screen went black. Then there was a small clicking noise as another figure appeared on the frame. He was lean and tall, with bluish skin and a slightly large forehead. He wore long black robes and a crooked smile.

"Hello, Teen Titans of the earth," the man seemed to be amiable enough, "I have been meaning to contact your team sooner or later. It's nice to meet you all."

"Uh…?" Beast Boy looked confused, "You wanted to talk with us? But the dude who answered the call was acting as if you guys didn't want to talk to us."

"Yes, well, a few of our secretaries are cranky after thousands of late-night phone calls," the alien waved his hand in the air as if it was nothing.

"But you are the Teen Titans," his eyes glimmered at them in deep, sincere interest, "You saved the entire universe from the most evil being of the galaxy!"

The man bowed slightly at them, "You have the world's gratitude."

"Right…" Robin shifted awkwardly at the formality, "Listen, that's actually part of the reason why we contacted you."

"Ah, I think I know what you are referring to," the alien looked up, his face turning slightly more serious, "You are calling to learn about the whereabouts of the girl Raven?"

The others looked up at the man in surprise then nodded quickly.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to divulge any information," the alien said sadly.

"Please," Starfire pleaded, "She is our friend and we wish to know if she is in custody at your court."

The blue alien seemed to think for a moment then said, "According to official reports…I see that you are well acquainted with this girl? What was she to the Teen Titans? Was she was more than just a fellow team member?"

"Yes," Robin answered solidly, "She's our family."

"Well, normally, the happenings at our court are not let out to the public," the alien stated then added with a polite smile, "But considering the circumstances, I suppose I can tell you what I know. Ask whatever you desire and I shall answer carefully if it is under my extent of knowledge."

The Titans shared an enthusiastic look. This was their first lead in weeks. They would finally be able to locate their missing friend.

"Is she there?" Beast Boy asked eagerly.

"Has she gone through trial?" Robin demanded.

"Yes, she has gone through her trial," he replied, "It wasn't much of a hearing, more like the Court passing its decision. I believe the final verdict was quite controversial but I did not attend the trial that day so I don't know too much about the details."

"What was her sentence?" Beast Boy shouted emotionally, "Because you can't keep her there in prison! She's a Titan! She's a hero! She defeated Trigon and-

"I wasn't finished," the alien interrupted looking slightly annoyed, "Hold on a second."

There were some rustling sounds from the other side and then a file appeared in the alien's hands.

"Ah, here's the record of her trial," he said as he opened up the folder and proceeded to read excerpts from it, "Let's see…went to trial…no official witnesses or defendants…blah blah blah…and Ah! Yes, right here. Subject had been cleared of all charges regarding the sinister circumstances of her birth and her part-demonic heritage due to the significant role she played in defeating the evil inter-dimensional being known as Trigon."

He closed the file and smiled playfully at the Titans, "Does that answer all your questions?"

But Robin, sensing that something was off, continued the investigation, "When was she released?"

"She was collected about a week after Trigon's defeat and then released the day after she was found," the alien answered.

The Titans looked puzzled. If Raven was released from Court three weeks ago, why had they not heard from her since?

"Where is she now?" Starfire asked anxiously.

"We are not sure," the alien shrugged, "We haven't kept track of her after she was released. Fortunately, or I suppose in your case, _un_fortunately, she is no longer on our list of priorities."

"Wait," Robin frowned, "Where exactly was she first found?"

"The Court had always tried to carefully monitor the actions of the subject but she was quite impossible to track down as she was kept well hidden," he sighed, "But she was finally found in one of the empty dimensions of the universe after Trigon had been defeated and the concealment charm Trigon had placed upon her broke."

"Empty dimensions?" Cyborg repeated, indicating he would need clarification.

"They are places that are completely void of anything; life, space, time, none of these exist in the empty dimensions," the alien explained calmly, although he seemed to look tired from the nonstop questions, "Seldom, life beings turn up there, but we can never know _how _they get there."

"I see," Robin said quietly.

"Well, have you asked all of your questions?" their respondent looked much wearier than he had been at the start of their conversation, "I'm afraid I do have duties I must attend to soon."

"…Yes, I suppose that will be all," Robin nodded slowly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled broadly. There was another small beep, and the screen turned black once again.

The Titans stared at each other in silence.

"I don't get it…" Beast Boy muttered, "If she was released…Then why would Raven not come back?

The four met each other's eyes in silence. They had learned a lot from the source but the most critical question had still been unanswered.

"So where is she now?" Robin demanded in frustration.

"She could have…left," Cyborg said glumly, "Maybe she didn't want to come back. Otherwise, why wouldn't she be on earth right now?"

"No," Beast Boy shook his head furiously, "Raven would have come back. I know it!"

"Face it BB!" Cyborg shouted in vexation, "Slade's on earth. Trigon is gone. There's nobody out there that could have trapped Raven somewhere. She's not here because she didn't want to come back! That's the only explanation!"

"No! It isn't!" Beast Boy roared, approaching dangerously towards Cyborg.

"Please friends, we must not fight," Starfire whimpered.

"Starfire's right," Robin said calmly as he pushed the two apart, "We need to focus. If Raven was released from prison and she didn't return then it's either she didn't want to come back or she couldn't."

He placed his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, "I'd like to believe it's the latter."

"But then where would she go?" Cyborg sighed. He was getting sick of asking this question over and over again.

"Oh!" Starfire suddenly made a loud gasping noise, which startled the rest of the members.

"Perhaps she has gone back to Azarath!" Starfire exclaimed, her eyes wide as saucers.

"Azarath?" Robin asked curiously.

"It is the place where our friend Raven was born," Starfire smiled, "She has once told me about her birthplace when we did the switching of the bodies."

Starfire's grin faded away slowly, "But she told me that the place had been destroyed under Trigon's rule."

"What if the place wasn't completely destroyed," Beast Boy added hopefully, "What if, like earth, the place got restored after Raven defeated Trigon?"

"Yes!" Starfire's face widened into a bright smile, "Yes, that is most possible, I am sure!"

"I guess after winning your all-powerful demonic father, going back home wouldn't be such a bad idea," Cyborg scratched his head, "Maybe Raven thought the same way."

"It's either that or we mope around for another month waiting for her to show up on her own," Robin said darkly, "We'll have to take this shot."

"For Raven," he affirmed as he put his right hand forward towards the others.

* * *

_ "__Hope."_

_The others stared up at Robin._

_"As long as we're still here, we still have a chance. And that's why we're going to keep fighting," Robin told them, holding out his hand, palm down, "For Raven."_

_"__For Raven," Starfire placed her hand on top of their leader._

_"__For Raven," Cyborg followed the gesture._

_"__For Raven," Beast Boy added his hand in last._

* * *

The other Titans joined their hands together in a pile as they had done so before.

"For Raven."


	8. Chapter 8 The Journey

"We said we would go to Azarath," Beast Boy grumbled, "But we never bothered to think about _how _we're going to get there?"

Cyborg turned his head to the side to glance down at a slightly frustrated Beast Boy. Nevertheless, the news of Raven's existence, at least somewhere in the galaxy, had returned the spark inside him that had been sorely missed by the rest of the team members. The report had indeed brought back life among the Titans. Robin's stance had regained his former level of confidence and conviction. No longer were his shoulders slouched, weighted down by guilt and depression. Starfire was energized more than ever; her cheery mood making it seem as if the Titans had already tracked down their friend. The air had significantly lightened. After all, their hopes had finally turned into something real.

When deciding to travel to their friend's home dimension, the Titans had inconveniently realized that they had no clue how to get to their destination. Their spacecraft would not be able to travel through different dimensions, Cyborg noted, and Raven had never disclosed how exactly to visit the city, confessed Starfire. In the end, they had agreed to conduct the most unforgivable crime of all: search for answers in Raven's room. And Cyborg, who know felt a bit ashamed for have selfishly giving up on Raven, ransacked her room more vigorously than others for clues.

"Man, she really needs to redecorate," Cyborg commented as he peered around the room which seemed to emanate a rather dark and dim aura from its walls and furniture.

"Just keep looking," Robin commanded as he looked through the stack of books on Raven's shelf, "There has to be answers on how to get to Azarath."

Cyborg and Beast Boy nodded as they bent down together to look under Raven's bed.

"Friends!" Starfire beamed as she opened up one of the drawers, "Look at what I have discovered!"

Robin looked towards Starfire's direction, "What is it?"

"It looks as if it is a beauty mirror," Starfire giggled as she pulled it out of its place, "Who knew that our friend Raven would have such-"

"No!" Cyborg and Beast Boy clamored simultaneously as they shot upwards from their crouched positions. They had recognized the jeweled mirror from before. Starfire yelped and the mirror promptly dropped onto the floor.

"Get it!" Beast Boy shouted as Cyborg grabbed a nearby piece of clothing and flung it across the room, covering up the object on the ground. The two glared down at the place where the object was laid hidden and after a few seconds sighed in immense relief as they saw that the mirror remained dormant.

"Whew, that was a close one," Beast Boy wiped off a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Uh…" Robin glanced at the two with an odd expression, "Mind explaining what just happened?"

"That thing is evil!" Cyborg shouted, pointing down at the object in accusation.

"Dude, it transports you to this freaky place where air fresheners come from and where Raven's all moody!" Beast Boy explained in a wild manner, sounding more like himself than he had for weeks.

"Do you mean to say that it is cursed?" Starfire looked worried.

"Actually…it's not cursed," Cyborg tried to correct the overreaction they had made earlier, "It's a portal into Raven's mind. She uses it for meditation."

"Her mind?" Robin's eyes widened, "How do you two know that?"

"Remember that time with Dr. Light and how Raven had lost control of her powers?" Cyborg explained and Robin nodded in response, "Well…Beast Boy went to her room to apologize for messing with her in the morning. You know the whole tofu fiasco? Anyways, he didn't knock loudly enough so I intervened and opened up the door for him-"

"More like broke it down," Beast Boy mumbled.

"-and then Beast Boy went popping zits in Raven's magic mirror," Cyborg glared down at his short friend, "Next thing we know, we're sucked inside it and transported to this creepy, dark realm."

"It's a super weird place with a Raven that wears pink and laughs at my jokes, a weepy Raven who apologizes a lot, and a cool marine girl who totally kicks butt," Beast Boy shared, wearing a goofy smile as he remembered the assortment of different characters Raven had in her head.

"What he's saying is that we met with different sides of Raven's personalities," Cyborg elaborated, "Happy, Timid, and Brave."

"That would have been… an interesting experience," Starfire concluded after a thought.

"If it's a portal to her mind can't we use it to reach Raven?" Robin questioned, taking in the story more seriously than he should be.

"Bad idea," Cyborg shook his head fervently, "Last time we went snooping inside her head, we almost didn't make it out. If Raven didn't figure out that we had used the mirror and came to rescue us, we'd have been stuck in there for a long time. We shouldn't risk it."

"Still…I think it could help us somehow in the long run," Robin said thoughtfully, "Hold on."

Robin exited the room. Beast Boy resumed his search underneath the bed while Cyborg and Starfire glanced at each other and shrugged, not knowing exactly what their leader had in mind. Robin returned after a few minutes with a small red backpack in his hand. He picked up the mirror and wrapped the cloth around it more tightly, then stuck it inside the bag.

"I'll carry it with me, just in case," Robin stated.

"Dudes!" the others jumped up, alarmed by the excited voice. They turned towards the bed, where the sound had come from. A few seconds later Beast Boy crawled out from underneath it, carrying a dusty old book in his hand.

"Check it out!" Beast Boy bellowed as he shook the book violently in the air, "I found it! I found out how to get to Azarath!"

"How do you know for sure?" Cyborg raised his eyebrows in doubt.

"Duh," Beast Boy rolled his eyes as he flashed the front cover of the book for the others to read, "It's titled 'Guidebook to Portals and Dimensions.'"

"…That's convenient," Cyborg commented.

"Let me see that," Robin grabbed it and flipped it open. The others crowded around him trying to peer into the pages.

"It's in a weird squiggly language," Beast Boy said as he squinted and saw ancient runes instead of words, "It doesn't make any sense."

"No worries, I can scan it and translate it," Cyborg reassured him as he put forward his left robotic arm, which shot out a blue light that scoured over the book. The others waited as Cyborg took care of the technological procedures.

"Got it!" Cyborg shouted in triumph and then he created a hologram of one of the pages in the book. The ancient transcripts on the pages were no longer indecipherable; they were now written out in Standard English.

"Nice work," Robin complimented as he looked at the image on the wall, "Says here we need sand in the shape of a circle, some candles around them, and the correct incantation."

"Okay…sand…" Beast Boy looked around the room and found a couple of flasks filled with sand on a nearby bookshelf. He brought them to the center of the room and popped the corks open. He then proceeded to pour out the contents, in the shape of a circle.

"I have brought the candles," Starfire said as she carried a whole bunch of them in her arms. Beast Boy set the candles up around the ring as Starfire lit each of them on fire.

"Done," Beast Boy announced and went inside the circle. He beckoned the others to join him.

"Couldn't have made it a little bigger?" Cyborg complained as he squeezed inside the rather small ring.

"I ran out of sand!" Beast Boy defended.

"Cyborg," Robin grunted from behind, "What are the words to the enchantment?"

"Uh…here's the phonetics for it," Cyborg replied as he looked at the screen on his arm, "Star, you mind reading it? It might be closer to your native tongue than ours."

"I will be delighted to assist!" Starfire floated a few centimeters off the ground to read the words over Cyborg's shoulders.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" Starfire began to chant, her eyes flashed in green light as she focused her energy into the spell, "Carazon Rakashas Endere…Vaserix Endrien Azarath…Azarath…Azarath!"

Immediately, a burst of light erupted around the ring. The room was consumed by the energy and the Titans realized that they were being warped. Raven's room vanished along with the books, the candles, the sand, and the ground.

"Whoa!" Cyborg, Robin, and Beast Boy shouted as gravity began to pull them down due to the absence of the floor. Starfire flew down and caught Robin by the hand while Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and caught Cyborg with his claws. They looked around in wonder and saw that they were in a long tunnel formed by light rays.

"I think we need to go forward!" Robin shouted, "The wind is pushing us from the back!"

Starfire and Beast Boy flew ahead, holding on tightly to their friends. They began to accelerate rapidly as the current behind them caused more momentum.

"We're almost there!" Cyborg yelled loudly over the sound of the vicious wind, "I see the end of it!"

"What is that?" Robin inquired sharply as he pointed at something in the distance that was inching closer and closer by the second.

In front of them, there stood what looked to be a sealing spell. It was a large circular pattern shining in pink and purplish light. It had ancient runes inscribed around the perimeter; the inner and outer shells of the circle were rotating slowly in the opposite direction.

"Oh!" Starfire gasped, "Friend Raven mentioned before that there were spells and enchantments to keep intruders from invading Azarath!"

"And you mention this _now_?" Cyborg shouted in disbelief.

They advanced forward, unable to stop, and felt a jolt of electricity across their bodies as they reached the barrier. But the Titans struggled forward, trying to get through.

"Let…us…in!" the Titans bellowed in pain and perseverance. There was another flash of bright light, this time from the barrier. The burn intensified for a few seconds then subsided slowly along with the white glare. The Titans relaxed their bodies then drifted unconscious as the glow dimmed and swallowed them up into darkness.


	9. Chapter 9 The Encounter

She opened her eyes as the heat became unbearable to endure. She realized that she was standing on a slab of rock in the middle of a large body of lava. The girl gasped as the lava surged forward, in the form of a giant wave. She flew out of the way just in time as the scorching magma swallowed the rock whole.

"What you have concealed you shall become!" there was a blinding flash of light and four eyes, gleaming in blood red, emerged out of the shadows above the pit of fire.

"You… You're not here," Raven looked horrified for a moment but then regained her firm composure, "You're not real!"

"I am absolute!" the voice echoed across the inferno, "I am always with you! I am always a part of you!"

"You were born so that I can rule the Earth," Trigon's eyes narrowed, "And nothing can be done to change that. You may think that you have stopped me but you could never defeat me! I exist as long as you exist!"

"That's not true," Raven protested, although she sounded uncertain.

"You cannot delay your destiny any longer!" the thundering voice shook her to the bones and rang harshly inside her ears. And in horror, Raven found herself being engulfed by a row of red flames. She was completely overwhelmed and could only close her eyes in resistance. When she opened them once more, she found herself standing alone in a realm of complete darkness.

"I shall return, soon, to full power!" Trigon roared from all directions, "And you will be there by my side."

"I won't join you!" Raven shouted as she frantically searched around the shadows trying to locate the voice.

"You don't have a choice," he laughed, "You cannot deny the darkness within you."

There was another flash of light and this time a mirror appeared before her eyes. Raven shuddered as she saw her reflection; the shadow of her blue hood was covering half of her face and there were four red glowing eyes staring back at her.

"No!" she cried out.

"Like Father, like daughter," the voice drawled.

Rage, anger, and hatred; they began to swerve around her insides, controlling her, consuming her, eating her alive. She felt the powerful emotions surge inside her and a piercing, agonizing scream escaped from her lips.

* * *

Beast Boy groaned as he stirred awake from his sleep. He thought he had heard a blood-churning scream amidst his dreams but soon forgot about it as he realized that he was no longer standing in Raven's room but lying down on an expanse of bare rock. Quickly, he stood onto his feet and looked up to see a sunny, orange-tinted sky.

His ears twitched as he heard the soft moans of his friends waking up beside him.

"Man," Cyborg rubbed his head, "That was a rough ride."

"Where are we?" Robin mumbled quietly, feeling disarrayed.

"I believe we have arrived in Azarath," Starfire stated as she looked around.

"Dudes, look!" Beast Boy exclaimed. His eyes wide open in shock. The others turned to see Beast Boy kneeling over what looked like a large cliff.

"What is it?" the others walked over curiously towards their green friend to see what the fuss was about and immediately their eyes bulged open as well.

"We're floating!" Beast Boy remarked in amazement, "On a giant rock!"

Indeed, the others observed that the city of Azarath was built one a colossal piece of rock floating in the sky. They couldn't locate the ground underneath the city; there was only an endless line of clouds and the color orange.

After a few more seconds of pure wonder and awe, Robin cleared his throat and suggested that they have a look around. The Titans walked towards a large golden gate that was most likely the front entrance.

Robin went forward to knock on the gate, but as soon as he approached it, the doors shuddered and opened up widely for them to enter.

"Okay…?" Cyborg said, "Are they expecting us or something?"

"I'm not sure," Robin narrowed his eyes in suspicion but entered inside the gate anyway. The others followed suite. As soon as they entered, the gate shut again on its own. They gazed around the city in astonishment. There were a few people out on the streets but the city was relatively quiet.

Beast Boy walked along the streets of Azarath in admiration. The city was so futuristic and beautiful. The buildings were simple yet innovate in design. There were small marketplaces, shops, alleyways, houses, and small street corners where children were playing around. His ears picked up the sound of soft wind chimes and the ringing of church bells in the distance. Raven's hometown didn't seem to have any of the cold, biting, reserved character of hers. The realm within her mind, the place which Cyborg and he had visited and assumed was her hometown, was a stark contrast from the city they were traveling in now. There was only peace and tranquility, two qualities that Raven most frequently spoke of.

A couple of people stared at them as they walked by. Their stares weren't rude or judgmental, but merely curious and interested.

"Uh… Why are they staring at us?" Beast Boy whispered nervously towards Cyborg.

"I guess we look like out-of-towners," Cyborg replied back quietly. This was the understatement of the year. After all, the appearance of the Teen Titans and of the civilians of Azarath was vastly different. The citizens of Azarath were wearing plain robes, in the shades of either white or beige, with black or dark brown hair to match. They were of average height and the size of ordinary humans. In stark contrast, the Teen Titans were much more noticeable in their attire and appearance. Beast Boy was green with pointy ears and slightly protruding fangs. Cyborg was large and buff with visible bluish robotic parts replacing parts of his human skin.

Starfire had a tall stature and a bright smile. She has been considered quite beautiful among the eyes of many men. However, with civilians who seemed to dress in modesty and humility, the striking color of her red hair and the slightly revealing design of her clothes that was unmistakably bright purple made her stand out equally as awkward as Beast Boy or Cyborg. The fact that her body was floating off the ground with ease also did not help with the blending in.

Robin, with his mask covering up both of his eyes and his clothes flashing in green, red, yellow, and black, looked as fitting to the city as Raven would look amidst a colorful children's carnival.

One of the onlookers finally approached the Titans after several minutes. It was an elderly woman wearing a brown robe and a warm, friendly smile.

"Are you looking for anything, my child?" she addressed Robin as she spoke.

"Uh… How did you know we were looking for something?" Robin answered with another question.

"Well, you are most certainly foreigners and it's not like we get a lot of tourists around here," the old lady joked lightly, "Tell me how did you pass through the barriers guarding Azarath? Only those who are pure and worthy are able to enter through here."

"We knew a spell," Robin replied truthfully, "From a friend who lives around here. We came here to meet her."

"That's right," Beast Boy laughed nervously, "We're looking for our friend. Her name's Raven. Do you know her?"

"Raven?" the old lady looked slightly puzzled, "I don't seem to recall that name here… Can you try describing her?"

"We most certainly can!" Starfire piped up excitedly, "She is most gentle and kind though she may seem unpleasant and uncaring at times and-"

"Um... Star," Robin coughed, "I think she was asking for us to describe Raven's _appearance._"

Starfire blushed, "Oh."

"Right… She's about this tall," Cyborg approximated Raven's height with his hand.

"Our friend wears a blue cloak," Starfire continued her rant, "and has short blue hair and purple eyes and gray skin."

"Oh!" the old woman gasped, realizing who the Titans were trying to sketch out, "You speak of Arella's child. Yes, of course, I know of her!"

"Can you tell us where she is?" Beast Boy asked rapidly, his voice rising in excitement.

"Head up the road to that hill over there and you'll find a small house across from an empty chapel," She pointed at a road up ahead that leaded to the higher elevated part of the town.

The Titans thanked the old lady quickly and walked up the pathway to where she had directed them. They realized that the road led them to a more secluded part of the city. They walked up a small hill and saw that at the end of the paved road was a small house. Across several meters of the house was a small but decent looking chapel.

"Let's go!" Beast Boy shouted but as he took a step forward he heard a loud rustling coming from the trees above them. Then suddenly, the leaves shook violently as Beast Boy heard a loud crack of a tree branch breaking. Then he heard a young girl shouting from above. She seemed to be saying, "Look out!"

The Titans looked up just in time to see a small girl falling from the tree branch. She crash landed right on top of Beast Boy.

The girl made a small "oof" sound when she fell but then she got up very quickly. She rubbed her head slightly and offered her small hand to Beast Boy who was lying on the ground looking dazed.

"Sorry about that," she apologized as she smiled happily, "But thanks for breaking my fall."

"No problem," Beast Boy mumbled weakly as he took the girl's hand to stand up. But then he froze. His heart skipped a beat.

The girl who had just fallen out of a tree had short blue hair and wide violet eyes. She looked almost like an exact duplicate of the childhood form Raven had been in during their battle with Trigon. The other Titans gaped at her as well. When the girl noticed the Titans staring down at her in disbelief, her eyebrows arched in suspicion.

"What?" she questioned.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked incredulously.

"Raven?" the small girl looked confused.

"Friend Raven?" Starfire marched forward and addressed her with a melodramatic voice, "Is this the reason you have been unable to return to us? You have resumed your childhood form?"

"I'm not a child anymore," the girl snapped back in annoyance, "I'm already ten years old!"

"That technically means you're still a child…" Cyborg mumbled from behind. The girl heard this and stuck out her tongue in response – a very un-Raven-like behavior indeed.

"Wait…so you're not Raven?" Robin tried to clarify.

"No," she huffed, "What are you talking about?"

"But you look _exactly _like her!" Cyborg argued, "The hair, the eye color…"

"And the, the robes…and stuff," Beast Boy finished lamely.

"Wait…" the girl paused, "Are you talking about someone with short blue hair, purple eyes, with a pissed off expression practically plastered on her face, looking like she wants everybody in the world to shut up?"

The Teen Titans shared glances, then deciding that the description was pretty fitting of their friend Raven, nodded in confirmation.

The girl looked insulted at the response. She folded her arms impatiently, "How could you confuse me with her? Even if we _are_ siblings!"

There was a long pause after this statement. It was a while until Beast Boy was finally able to work his mouth again.

"Siblings?" Beast Boy repeated, feeling dumbfounded, "You're Raven's little sister?"

She nodded curtly.

"I did not know our friend Raven had a sister," Starfire looked shocked but nonetheless ecstatic, "Oh, you look so cute!"

The girl giggled at the compliment and flattered Starfire on her long, silky hair in return.

Beast Boy remembered Raven's reaction when she had been called "cute."

* * *

_"__Raven?" Robin called out._

_"__Robin!" Raven's voice came from somewhere nearby._

_"__The Mumbo has made you invisible?" Starfire asked as she was unable to locate her friend._

_"__Up here!" the others looked up and saw a small white rabbit dressed in a blue cloak that strangely resembled Raven's attire._

_"__Um…" Beast Boy asked, looking dreadfully confused, "Why does that rabbit sound like Raven?"_

_"__Because I am Raven," Raven stated firmly. Starfire flew up next to the cage and peered inside to check._

_"__Oh, you look so cute!" Starfire squealed._

_The bunny-Raven growled._

* * *

"Definitely not Raven," Beast Boy confirmed quietly to Robin, who nodded in agreement.

Now that the Titans had closely observed her they realized that there were minor but noticeable differences between the young girl and their friend. The girl in front of them did have the same hair color as Raven's but the thin line of blue threads came down past the girl's shoulders. She had the exact same violet eyes. Yet, her skin wasn't grey; she was pale but she still had the regular beige tint of ordinary humans. She was missing the small red chakra that Raven had on her forehead. Her attire was similar in design but it was a much lighter tone of blue.

"Please, sister of friend Raven, what is your name?" Starfire asked with a friendly tone.

"It's Ariella," the girl smiled broadly, "You can call me Ella though, Ariella's a mouthful to say."

"I don't get it," Beast Boy shrugged, "How come Raven never mentioned she had a sister?"

"Oh," Ariella's smile quickly faded into a small frown, "She…never talked about me?"

"Um…well it's not like she didn't want to mention you! I'm sure it wasn't like that. Raven never shared anything about her past, I swear!" Beast Boy added hurriedly, trying to make up for hurting the little girl's feelings.

"Of course, I believe _that_," Ariella rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Listen, is Raven around?" Robin asked hastily, not bothering to wait to get to the main point.

"Yeah…" Ariella answered cautiously then pointed at the church behind her, "She's in there meditating. But you don't want to go there. Not now."

"Uh… Yeah, we do!" Robin argued.

"Hey…" Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at each other, "Déjà vu."

"But we must see our friend Raven!" Starfire begged, "Please, may we not pass through?"

"It's your call," Ariella shrugged, "But there's _probably _something I should mention before you guys try to…"

"I'm sure it can wait. We need to talk to Raven," Robin said firmly, settling the matter, and then marched straight towards the church. The others looked down at Ariella first, who merely shrugged, before following Robin's footsteps. They walked up to the front door of the chapel and stopped.

"So…do we just go in?" Cyborg asked with uncertainty. The Titans wanted to see their friend quite dearly. But they did know the consequences of interrupting Raven during her meditation period.

"Perhaps we should knock first?" Starfire suggested, remembering the most recent episode where Raven had flung Beast Boy across the living room for disrupting her meditation period by playing with a foghorn.

Beast Boy stepped forward boldly and knocked on the door of the church. There was no reply from the other side. He tried the handle of the door but realized that it was locked.

"Raven?" Beast Boy called out as he thumped on the door, "It's us! Open up!"

There was only silence. A vein popped in Beast Boy's forehead. He knew that these meditation sessions were important for Raven and that she hated it when people disturbed her, but couldn't she stop 'looking through her mind' for once and open up the door?

"C'mon, we know you're in there! Rae!" Beast Boy used the nickname he knew Raven despised in hopes of getting her attention.

"Are you sure she's in there?" Robin asked Ariella, who had been standing behind them looking strangely amused.

"Yup, she's in there alright," she smiled happily.

"Could friend Raven be in trouble?" Starfire wondered anxiously.

"You think we should break down the door?" Cyborg proposed.

"Let me try one last time," Beast Boy said firmly. He drew in a deep breath and this time, bellowed the words as loudly as it was humanely possible, "RAVEN! OPEN UP THE DOOR!"

The Titans gulped and stared at Beast Boy, uneasily, from behind.

_Crack!_ There was a sound of glass breaking from the inside. Several angry footsteps followed. The door flung open and the Titans caught a glimpse of the familiar azure hair, purple eyes, and eyebrows contorted in anger and annoyance…until a large object suddenly swished down from above, showering down a wall of water from its mouth. It then slammed onto the figure's head, covering up her entire face.

It was a giant bucket.

The Titans froze in horror as a now drenched Raven began to slowly lift the pail up from her head. There was a howl of laughter coming from behind.

"I swear it wasn't me this time!" Beast Boy put up his arms instinctively and shook them violently in the air, trying to make it clear that he wasn't responsible for _this_ prank. But Raven didn't pay any attention to Beast Boy's actions. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the little girl standing behind the Titans. Ariella was clutching her sides, laughing her head off, until she noticed a very soaked and very_ angry _Raven glaring down at her.

"…Whoops?" Ariella laughed nervously then broke out into a run.

"Ariella," Raven growled through her teeth. She raised her right hand, now encased in black energy. She caught Ariella's retreating figure with her magic and dragged her back to the chapel's front door.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to deal with any more of your stupid practical jokes," Raven said as she tried to keep calm even though a clear sign of irritation was etched into her voice.

"Aw, come on, you're no fun!" Ariella whined, "I _know _you think my pranks are hilarious!"

"Then why am I not laughing," Raven replied flatly as she glowered down at Ariella who proceeded to glare right back. The intense staring contest continued for a few seconds until Raven finally realized that the others were still standing there, staring at them with befuddled expressions.

"Um… What are they doing here?" Raven questioned her younger sister while wearing a rather blank look.

At this point, Beast Boy lost it.

"What are we _doing _here?" Beast Boy yelled vehemently, "You just disappeared into thin air and were gone for _weeks!_ Then after like a month, we _finally _got some answers from our enemy number one. _Then _we found out you were in _jail! _We called them up, but they said you were released! So we traveled _all_ the way here to your birthplace to learn why you haven't been able to come home and we find out that apparently you've been staying here, the whole time, _meditating?!_"

"What are you talking about?" Raven raised her eyebrows.

"No!" Beast Boy snapped sharply, "I'm sick and tired of you disappearing and not telling us anything! I know that you're not big with the whole sentimentality thing, but you could have at least given us a sign! You know…call, drop in for a visit, send a creepy telepathic message saying, uh hi guys, hope you're doing fine, by the way, _I'M ALIVE!"_

"I don't-"

"We were worried sick about you!" Beast Boy yelled, "Did you even stop to think about how we could have been doing, not even knowing whether you were dead or alive?!"

The Titans stared at Beast Boy in wonder and silence. They were surprised at his emotional outburst but they didn't look nearly as puzzled as Raven was. She continued to give Beast Boy a long, quizzical look. Ariella blinked, glancing at her older sister then at the green boy in marvel. Beast Boy took in a deep breath and calmed down a bit.

"You should have…visited..." Beast Boy's voice had significantly softened although it still trembled, "_Anything _to tell us you were okay…"

Raven pursed her lips in discomfort.

"Raven…" Beast Boy's face became tender, "We missed you."

At this comment, Raven's face significantly hardened.

"Ariella," Raven addressed her younger sister, sounding exasperated, "I don't know what kind of joke you're playing now but this is _far_ from being humorous."

"I'm not!"

Raven roughly pushed Ariella towards the Titans' directions, cutting off her sister's words, "Now go off and play with your friends and-"

"They're _not _my friends!" the girl once again protested to no avail. Raven rolled her eyes and ignored her younger sister's excuse as she opened up the doors of the church.

"Leave me alone."

She stressed each of these words very strongly before slamming the door shut.

The Titans eyes stared at the closed doors feeling stunned. Beast Boy blinked. Although Raven had a reputation for being apathetic, usually she would show some signs of response if someone went through an emotional meltdown. But this time, she hadn't reacted at all. Or…she had reacted, but to the wrong person, completely ignoring the fuming green boy who had been the one to lash out at her.

"Uh…Why is Raven acting like that?" Beast Boy, who was very much confused, asked Ariella.

"I _tried_ to tell you guys but you wouldn't let me explain, remember?" Ariella shot a nasty look towards Robin while saying this.

"Well, explain now," Robin demanded, not sounding sorry at all.

Ariella sighed deeply, annoyed at Robin's testy attitude.

"She kind of…lost her memory," Ariella said this in a rather casual tone. She then laughed nervously as she saw the Titans' horrified reactions.


	10. Chapter 10 The Meeting

"What do you mean she lost her memories?" Robin was the first to recover from the shock.

"I mean she doesn't remember...uh...whoever you guys are..." Ariella's eyes narrowed, "Who are you guys again?"

"That's not important right now!" Cyborg shouted, "Why does Raven not remember who we are?"

"Well, technically it_ is_ important because I need to know who you guys are before I can help," Ariella rolled her eyes, "Sheesh, how do I know if you guys are the bad guys out to get my sister or something."

"We're not the bad guys! We're the heroes! _And _we're Raven's friends!" Beast Boy retorted.

"Uh...Raven doesn't have any friends," she said this without any malice or intention of offending her sister, "And why would she befriend a green guy with elf ears, an alien girl, a tin man, and a guy who uses _way _too much mousse in his hair?"

"Hey!" Beast Boy tugged on both ends of his point ears in defense, "These aren't elf ears!"

"And this is an appropriate amount of hair gel!" Robin argued back as well, pointing at his spiky hair with hurt pride.

"Sure," Ariella smirked, not looking convinced at all, "But you guys still look pretty weird to me."

"All right, that's it! Come here you little brat," Cyborg advanced forward in annoyance.

"Friends, wait!" Starfire stopped Cyborg with one arm and looked down at Ariella then at Robin, "She is right."

"What?" Robin looked insulted, "Starfire, I swear I use the exact amount the bottle tells me to use!"

"No," Starfire shook her head, "What I mean to say is that we should first make our introductions before we ask of her to assist."

Robin slowly nodded in understanding and then cleared his throat. He straightened up, trying to re-impose his authoritative image as the team leader, "We are the Teen Titans, heroes from Earth. I'm Robin."

"This is Cyborg," Robin gestured his hand to the others in the order of their names, "Beast Boy, Starfire, and Ra-"

Robin froze, realizing that their usual fifth party member was missing and that there was nobody else left for his hand to indicate to.

At the Teen Titan's sudden silence, Ariella sighed in defeat, "Okay, okay, I buy the story."

She walked forward and pointed to the house across from the church.

"Let's go inside," she stated, "There's someone who can explain…this… probably a lot better than I can."

The Teen Titans were led inside the house. It was larger inside than it seemed like from the exterior. Ariella led them across a short hallway into a living room. The room, and all of its furniture, had a very futuristic feeling to it. Most of the house was painted in different tones of light brown, giving off a rather warm and homey atmosphere that the Titans did not expect from their dark friend's childhood house.

"Mom!" Ariella called out as she took off her cloak and carelessly threw it on a nearby couch, "I'm back! Where are you?"

Inside the cloak, the Titans noticed, the girl had not been wearing a leotard but loose white pants and a blue sweater.

"In the kitchen, dear," a beautiful, melodic voice answered from a doorway across the living room.

"This way," Ariella beckoned the others to follow her and she led them into what appeared to be a pretty spacious kitchen.

A woman, who looked like she was in her thirties, was sitting in the middle of the room; in front of her were a round, clear table and a cup filled with a black, steaming substance. Her almond shaped eyes were a dark violet and her long, blue hair came down on both sides of her elegant and slender face. She was wearing a pure white robe that further accented the vibrant colors of her eyes and hair.

"Good evening," the woman spoke in soft voice. The Titans perceived an eerie feeling that she knew in advance about their arrival for her eyes bore no sense of bewilderment that four complete strangers were walking inside her house.

"Mom, these are the Teen Titans," Ariella introduced.

"Of course," her eyes seemed to pierce straight through them for a moment. Then, she gave out a small smile and kindly asked the Titans to take a seat. Whether by chance, or not, there were exactly four vacant seats around the table. The Titans sat down nervously.

"Ella, have you finished your homework for today?" she asked.

"Yes!" Ariella answered rather quickly.

She stared down at her daughter with suspicion.

"…Maybe…?" Ariella said with uncertainty.

Her mother raised one of her eyebrows silently.

"Ugh, fine! No, I didn't finish my homework!" Ariella broke down under the pressure of her mother's unwavering stares.

"Why don't you go finish it before dinner," her mother sighed.

"Okay…" Ariella grumbled as she turned around and left the kitchen while muttering a few words that distinctly sounded like "mean" and "unfair."

"So…" the woman faced the others as soon as her daughter left the room, "The Teen Titans. It is an honor to have you here in Azarath."

"And it is most honorable to be here!" Starfire replied cheerfully.

"So…uh…" Beast Boy eyed the woman hesitantly.

The mother smiled gently, "Please, call me Arella."

"Right," Beast Boy nodded then paused, looking bemused, "Ariella…Arella… Wait. What? I'm confused."

"Ariella is my youngest daughter's name, and yes, her name resembles a lot with my own," Arella laughed softly, "So I call her Ella for short, otherwise I would confuse myself as well."

"Did you name her after yourself?" Beast Boy asked.

"Rachel named her after me," Arella replied.

"Rachel?"

"Yes… You are here for Rachel, are you not?" it was Arella's turn to look confused.

"You mean Raven?" Cyborg offered.

"Ah, I see my daughter went by _that_ name on Earth…" Arella looked sad for a moment, "But her full name is Rachel Raven Roth."

"Whoa," Beast Boy's eyes widened, "You mean we've been calling her by her _middle name _this whole time?"

"What's the big deal?" Cyborg pointed out, "We use our superhero aliases all the time!"

"Yeah…but _still_," Beast Boy pressed on, "It just feels weird."

"You didn't think Raven could be somebody's first name did you…? I hope you know that my legal name isn't Cyborg," Cyborg shot him a look of disbelief.

"Hey! Different planet, different name choosing customs! Excuse me for not judging people by their names!" Beast Boy defended himself, "I mean, Starfire's name is Starfire!"

"It is true, on my home planet, the names pertaining celestial meanings are held most honorable by the Tameranian royal blood line."

"Uh…right," Beast Boy and Cyborg learnt a long time ago to just nod in fake understanding whenever Starfire brought up traditional facts regarding her home planet.

"Well," Arella shrugged, "I'm sure we have more important matters to talk about than my daughter's name…?"

"Yes," Robin answered solemnly, "We want to know what happened to Raven."

"We wish to know why our friend does not remember us," Starfire said glumly.

"I cannot give a definite answer…for I am not entirely sure myself," Arella said, "But I will try."

"Azarath was restored to its peaceful conditions after Trigon's fall," Arella started, "The people here knew at once that his tyrannical rule had finally ended. We heard the news that the Teen Titans had saved the universe from destruction and that…Raven had also been there to assist."

"We assisted her… She defeated Trigon on her own," Robin muttered.

"…A week after Azarath's reclamation," Arella continued, "Raven appeared at the city's gates. She was dreadfully confused and demanded to see me immediately. She said that when she awoke, she was being held at a prison, and was soon held a trial for her recent defeat of Trigon. But Just by talking with her for one minute I realized that…she could not remember the last couple years of her life…the life she spent on earth. She couldn't remember that she had defied the destiny of her birth."

"You mean…she remembers everything except for her years on earth?" Cyborg said as he scratched his head.

"In theory…" Arella's voice slightly shook, "My daughter should not have survived after becoming a portal to Trigon. But she managed to survive…and she managed to defeat Trigon as well."

The Teen Titans' nodded silently, reliving the horrors of the apocalypse in their minds.

"After Raven defeated Trigon, her purpose on Earth and the contract of her birth was broken, so she was forced to leave. When she was removed from Earth, the universe placed her in one of the empty dimensions…for she no longer had a place to belong in."

"But she does have a place to belong in!" Beast Boy shouted, "She belongs with us!"

"It does not work that way," Arella shook her head, "Her purpose in Azarath ended when she received her cursed powers from Trigon and learned to control them. Her purpose on Earth ended when she defied her own destiny by destroying her creator."

"So…how does that explain her memory loss?" Robin pressed on.

"Since Raven's purpose on earth was solely to serve Trigon... I believe that the reason why she cannot remember those years on Earth is because…instead of her existence…her _memories_ were destroyed."

Silence followed her words.

"Is there a way to fix it…? For her to remember…?" Robin asked quietly.

Arella looked away, "I…I don't-"

_SLAM!_

There was a loud smashing sound from the living room and the Teen Titans jumped up in their seats from the sudden noise. A few moments later, a familiar blue-haired teenage girl stepped inside the room. Raven was heavily soaked from head-to-toe. She took a small towel from one of the kitchen shelves and began to dry off her hair.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Arella asked gently, although her eyes darkened as she glared down at the puddle forming under her daughter's foot on her otherwise immaculate kitchen floor.

"Ariella booby-trapped the front door," Raven sighed as she put down the sodden towel onto the kitchen counter. She walked across the kitchen and poured herself a hot cup of tea. She turned around and eyed the Teen Titans with a surprised look.

"Arella, are these your guests?" Raven asked warily.

"No," Arella sighed, "They are yours."

"Excuse me?" Raven glanced at the four 'strangers' in a skeptical manner. The Teen Titans stared at her with a look of longing and sorrow.

"Rachel, meet the Teen Titans," Arella addressed the four with a sad grin, "They are the missing links to your past."

"My…past," Raven repeated rather blankly.

"On Earth," Arella added.

Raven simply nodded silently. Her gaze settled, not on the Titans, but down at her own reflection being shown on the surface of her tea.

"I'll leave you all alone for some privacy," Arella said as she stood up. She gave a warm smile to the Titans and threw a worried glance towards the back of Raven's head before leaving the room.

"So…?" Raven finally opened her mouth, looking slightly impatient at the other Titans who were silently gaping at her, unable to say a single word.

"Hi," Beast Boy said timidly.

"Who are you guys again?" Raven bluntly asked.

Beast Boy's ears drooped slightly, "You really don't remember us, huh?"

"No," Raven answered dryly, "Otherwise I wouldn't be asking."

"Well…it seems like all we've been doing today is introducing ourselves," Robin sighed, "My name's Robin."

"This is Cyborg," the tin man grinned slightly.

"Starfire," the alien girl smiled broadly from her seat.

"Beast Boy," the green boy merely nodded in response, still looking as if he was on the brink of tears.

"And we're the Teen Titans," Robin said with slight pride, "We're heroes and we protect Jump City."

"Right…" Raven said slowly, "And how did I know you guys?"

"You're part of our team," Robin answered firmly.

That particular statement earned Robin a short scoff of disbelief from Raven.

"Come on, seriously," Raven cleared her throat. Robin hardened his stare to communicate that he was telling the truth.

Raven seemed to look mistrustful now, "I was a part of your team?

"Yeah," Beast Boy laughed nervously, "Is it that hard to believe?"

Raven said nothing, her gaze only darkening.

"How…did we meet?" she finally asked.

"Well..." Beast Boy trailed off. His brain rewinding to the day they had first met.

"Oh! It had been the day I first came to Earth!" Starfire piped up, "I had been captured by the Gordanians, being taken as a slave to the Citadel. But I escaped from their captivity and arrived on Earth."

"Starfire was being a bit..." Robin cleared his throat awkwardly as Starfire turned slightly crimson, "She was a bit rough with the city because she thought people were trying to hurt her."

"She was practically tearing up the entire city," Cyborg chuckled, "But then Robin showed up, trying to stop her, then Beast Boy and I tried to help, and then you came along."

"You were actually the one to actually suggest a more peaceful approach," Robin grinned, "Otherwise, Starfire might have never-"

"Kissed Robin," Beast Boy snickered.

Robin turned a bright shade of pink, but carried on persistently, "-made us into a team. You see, we decided to join forces to save Starfire from the Gordanians who were planning to take over Jump City if we didn't release her."

"We blew up their spaceship," Cyborg smiled, "Then we realized we work pretty well as a team. So we built a tower near the city and became the Teen Titans."

"From then on, we helped save the city, taking down one bad dude at a time," Beast Boy smiled confidently. Raven still looked rather stiff in her seat.

"I don't think I would have ever done such a thing…" her eyes wavering away from the other Titans, "I'm not the hero type."

"But you _are _a hero!" Beast Boy pleaded with her, "You kicked Trigon's butt and saved the entire universe!"

"I defeated him?" Raven asked carefully, her eyes portraying a momentarily sign of fear and concern that went unnoticed by the other Titans.

"Of course!" Cyborg shouted, "We saw the guy turn into nothing by your powers!"

Raven still looked skeptical.

"Look, we get it. You don't remember us," Beast Boy pressed on, pleading with his friend who was staring back at him with a guarded expression. "But that's okay. We're friends, Raven. We're family. And we're going to make sure that you remember us and come back home with us as a Teen Titan."

It took a while before Raven let out a small sigh of defeat and nodded.

"You can try," she said, her voice considerably more gentle than it had been from their prior encounter.

"Great!" Beast Boy sprung up to his feet, his spirit rising with new hope, "Now then, uh...any hotels here in Azarath?"


End file.
